


Secret Love

by Sheechiibii



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Canon - Manga, M/M, Origional Characters, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-09-06
Updated: 2011-05-28
Packaged: 2017-10-11 12:48:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/112591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheechiibii/pseuds/Sheechiibii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sasuke holds his best friends life in his palm what will he do? Crush it? Or hold it? Love it? Or leave it?</p><p>When his actions have brought Naruto to death's door what will he do? Toss him away without a second glance? Or turn around and take him far, far away from it all?</p><p>But every action has a consequence. And soon Sasuke is left questioning everything he is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Corpse

** Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Matashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story. **

** ** Okay! So this is my first fic on this site. I just found this place so I hope I get at least some people reading my work ^.^ The fic’s half ways complete already so the first few chapters will be uploaded in pretty quick succession. Also, twenty is an estimate, I have no idea how many chapters there are going to be so...it's a lower estimate too.  ** **

** ** It's all going to be in first person as well, so some of the things said are purely Sasuke's thoughts. Keep that in mind ~.^ ** **

** ** And with that said, on with the first chapter. ** **

****... **** 

**Corpse**

I sat in stillness and silence – disregarding the mindless chatter from further in the cave - as I watched the corpse in front of me. Metaphorically speaking of course; it wasn't a corpse in reality…but it was hardly a living creature; all the dazzling life that had once been so present in this form were now absent – it was nothing more than the body of my best friend. My best friend…he most certainly wasn't. Yet that's what he constantly says to me; _'I will bring you home, Sasuke, you're my best friend.'_ Hn, as if he could ever stand a chance against me in any case.

It's…sort of sad…he was really nothing more than a corpse now. The once blaringly noticeable and equally unpredictable ninja now lay before me as nothing short of a dead body. The paralysis Jutsu that I'd cast on him in our final battle days before had not worn out, nor would it ever, since he was due to die – officially – in a matter of hours.

It was sad, now that I think of it…I would never see those blatantly blue eyes shine again with the mirth contained within him; I'd never again see him flaunt his worthless 'powers' or his unimpressive 'skills'. Yet as I sat there, on the floor beside him, I still could not feel an ounce of pain – I couldn't feel anything that I should have with the knowledge that the only person I still held valuable to me was about to die. And it wouldn't be a painless death…the extraction of a bijuu was not pretty. I'd only seen it once before and it was something I never wished to witness again.

But still, I'd taken him. I'd gone to fight him, manipulating him into believing that he was the one who'd come to me; who'd found me. He always was so oblivious. Sakura knew though, I'd not missed the look on her face as I struck my final blow. She had been too far away though, and any chance she may have believed she had at saving either of us had been doomed.

And now I sat, painstakingly bored, watching my only important person as their last moments ticked away in stillness. He always told me I was a bastard. I always knew he was right. I just didn't care. If I cared I wouldn't have joined this god forsaken group. Akatsuki. They had to be the most ruthless, insane, heartless people I'd ever met – it really was no wonder that they'd found a way to connect themselves.

But I didn't belong here. I didn't belong with them. I didn't dislike them; I don't think I had it in me to feel those sorts of things any more. I'd joined them purely out of convenience. The last member of my family was here so it seemed only fitting that I be here too. I didn't have to like it. I didn't have to feel comfortable with it. I didn't even have to live with it. And I wouldn't…I'd find something better to do with my time then spend it on guard duty – making sure someone who was paralysed wasn't going up and run away at any moment. Something that didn't involve me murdering my best friend.

He wasn't my best friend though. And I didn't care if he lived or died. I should have been glad at any rate; at least with him gone he couldn't chase me wherever I went. Not that I couldn't handle him, it would just be more convenient. I suppose I could return to Konoha; do what he asked of me. But I wouldn't do that in a million years. The punishment I'd receive for my 'crimes' would simply not be worth my time. Besides…what would I gain by going back there; it held no potential for me and it never would. I'd never return. Nothing I wanted was there.

Not that I wanted anything. There was nothing to want any more. I had everything I'd ever wanted. Power. Revenge. Acknowledgement…Regret. Regret; it was something I'd never expected; it was the only thing I really felt any more, and the only thing I had that I wished I didn't. I'd always thought that with my brother's death at my hand I would feel freed, worthy of my name, and…happy. I hadn't felt happy for so long I'd missed it. I'd tried to gain it; there had been glimpses, in my childish games with my equally childish 'team-mates'. Thankfully I had severed all of those bonds. Not that it stopped certain people from following me, like little lost puppies waiting to be fed. Well…Naruto's was certainly fed now. He'd never feel hungry again.

But when I'd stood there, watching as the last slivers of life slipped through Itachi's fingers, I'd cried. I'd wept silently to myself, not caring who saw me, not caring how pathetic I looked. I'd cried because I was so…disappointed. I thought I'd feel so much more, but all I felt was a strange hollowness that ate at me like a leech; sucking all the remaining feelings from me until I was left dry – a weak puddle of a person.

I laid myself next to his limp body – just like a corpse – I wasn't tired, I don't really get tired any more, sleeping is just something I do when I get bored. I can't do that right now though, I have to watch him constantly. I'd be able to sleep at dawn, I was thankful for that. They would perform the ceremony – hn, to call such a thing a 'ceremony' disgusted me – at dawn, and that would be when I'd get my first break in three days. Like I said, I wasn't tired, just bored. I was always bored these days. That was the result of having no purpose.

My name was called but I ignored it; it was only Karin. Those three had insisted on following me as well; they weren't as annoying as Naruto, though, mainly because they didn't try to force me to do things I didn't want. They respected me. Naruto never respected me – he was so selfish, constantly shouting on and on about how he didn't want to loose me and how he wanted his 'brother' back, what about what I wanted; I didn't want another brother! One had been more than enough.

Hebi – my…group, because they weren't team-mates; we were not a team – had even followed me here, all the way from Orochimaru's clutches to Akatsuki's lair. They didn't seem to care what they did so long as they were entertained. And Karin was here because she wanted me. Hn, just like most of those ridiculous girls, it actuality made me feel puzzled by the way Sakura had acted when I'd last seen her. She had looked at me with something akin to hatred, even before she'd seen through my tactics, and it was strangely amusing, when I saw that she had transferred her silly attractions from me to Naruto. I didn't think he deserved them, he was nothing but a puppy and the only one he chased nowadays was me; I could see through the resentment in her eyes that he put her second to me now. I didn't care about the details…I didn't care about them. Besides, I'd break her heart a second time at dawn when I took another love away from her.

"Sasuke!" This time it was Suigetsu. I didn't say anything to him either, only turned my head away from the corpse to show that I was paying him the attention he desired. He left Karin to tell me the details about the ceremony. It seemed the group was heading into a larger part of the cave; they were going to set everything up for Naruto's murder. Apathy fled me for a brief second, replaced by something that was unidentifiable in the short period it settled inside me. It was not important – if it was it would have stayed.

Karin went on to say something about me staying here, I was barely listening by that point; she bored me more than the lifeless form at my side, the one I was staring at again. He looked asleep, though he was covered in dirt and blood, no wounds of course; I hadn't let the meaningless battle take up enough of my time for any real damage to be done. The minor cuts were gone due to the fox; the one that was so important for the success of Akatsuki's goal. All of their dedication and effort and planning would be worth nothing if they couldn't get the Kyuubi and none of the other eight Bijuu mattered without it.

It didn't matter to me, regardless, and so I had paid little attention to Madera…my uncle…as he'd told me of their master plan and all that bullshit; I didn't expect to be here by that point anyway. I didn't really expect them to succeed with it either, with them against the world. And they were not that special, even with Bijuu – letting untamed beasts carry out their dirty work would get them nowhere. Disregarding their sheer power, Bijuu were nothing but animals; they had little thought process and even smaller amounts of understanding. And for Akatsuki their allies were not their only problem. For them everyone was an enemy, and as it's been said; an enemy of an enemy is a friend – it wouldn't take long before factions, ninja villages and rebel groups all joined together to eliminate these morons.

Everything was so silent in our small cave now, more so than before. This hideout was gloomier than others had been before and I lay, with Naruto, in a smaller, cut off part; one where almost no candlelight reached and I'd get all the peace I wanted. Now that everyone had left to set things up it was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat, hn, so I still had one. I'd half expected it would have disintegrated by now. Oh well.

"Uhhnnn…" I raised an eyebrow; it certainly hadn't been me making that disgracefully weak noise. My eyes had strayed from the corpse's face and it seemed my paralysis jutsu wasn't holding up as I'd wanted. That's a shame; I wouldn’t get much sleep with the racket he'd make if he was not unconscious for the 'ceremony', I've witnessed only one and it was…horrific; the boy they'd found had been especially cheeky and troublesome to shut up, no matter how hard he was hit he would not loose consciousness. I suppose he'd brought it upon himself, that boy, they'd gone ahead with him fully aware. The memory of it actually caused a few hairs to rise on my skin and a strange shiver to race through me. I don't think I've ever vomited so much in my entire life.

There was a pause before another mumble, slightly quieter than the first stirred me from my reminiscing, thankfully. Looking over the body before me I was slightly relieved that he was still fully unconscious…he must have been dreaming or fighting with my jutsu; he'd never beat it, not completely. I was just glad that I wouldn't have to listen to his screams. That would have been embarrassing. I'd once been called a rival to this corpse. Hn, whatever.

"Hmmm…Ssss" Oh that's just perfect. Now I'd be forced to listen to him mumble and mutter meaninglessly to himself. See what I mean…even with his death mere hours away and he was still forcing me to do things I didn't want to do. "Sssss..aaah" his voice was so meek and tiny that I nearly didn't hear it; good, maybe it would stop and I would be left to the silence again.

I was never very lucky. "Sasss…ahmm…ssskaaay" And that was definitely my name. Intriguing. Yes, it would be interesting to see what Naruto's subconscious had to say to me. I wonder if it feels the same as the obnoxious blond does, or thinks. I don't care either way…it's just…sort of strange. Although I knew he was obsessed with me, I wouldn't have thought he'd think of me in his last moments. I hate to say it but…that is so sad…and not in the upset way…it's really sad that he thinks of someone who doesn't give a shit about him when he could be thinking of those who do care; those who will miss him. Because I won't.

I was disappointed though, because for the next while – which seemed much longer than it ought to be – he was almost completely silent. He likes to irritate me you see. So he constantly does the opposite of whatever I want. I want him to shut up; he talks. I want him to talk; he shuts up. Hn; stupid blond idiot.

Heh, I remember once when we were on a mission together and were conned into sharing a tent and – though I was thankful to be away from Sakura – I discovered that he sleep talks. I don't know if it was my sleep riddled mind or not, but I swear that night I heard him say…

"Luuv..emmyooh..Ssss..kay…….uhn…" At that I turned my head away from him, it's not as though he actually said it. He was just mumbling; my mind was confusing the real world and my mistaken memories; it's done that before; it was nothing to think about; I don't care anyway. I don't know why but I felt increasingly tense, my breath came in faster rhythm and my heart beats hastened their pace. I don't care. I don't care.

And then the corpse whispered again, in almost pure clarity; "I love you." It was silent after that; just as I'd wanted. He'd finally done what I'd wanted. He'd spoken and shut up. And now I wished for neither, or both, I couldn't tell. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to murder him with my bare hands, destroy every part of his selfish idiotic self. Who did he think he was? I urged my body to move but it wouldn't. I felt as though we'd switched places; me and the corpse. No…he wasn't a corpse…because he wasn't dead…yet. I wouldn't need to kill him myself. They would murder him for me…I'd get him out of my hair…I wanted to tear my hair out. I wanted to scream. I wanted to…and then that feeling was back, mixing my thoughts further as it pierced through me. This time it stayed, but I still couldn't distinguish it. It was gone after a while though, and I was left with the strangest resolution. But this resolution was not unfamiliar; I'd had it before.

I wanted him to live. And I could make that happen. And I would. Just like I had before.

I checked quickly that the chakra signals in the other room were still occupied elsewhere: they were. All quite busy with their preparing for their precious 'ceremony'. Hn, I smirked, what would they think when we were gone upon their return? They should have known better than to trust me. I wondered about Hebi for only a split second as I focused my chakra to a peak; forming my hand signs with steady hands and a will of steal. They would either be killed or would escape, I didn't care either way – I may have helped them in the past; but that was all at my convenience, and when I walked out of here I didn't expect to see them again, so what happened to them was none of my concern.

My clones appeared quickly; they were strong and would not be identified by any of the group except my uncle; he'd never forgive me. I didn't care. The seals came a little slower, but still…in moments I had the entire mini-cave wrapped in a warped bubble of the truth. What they would see was me, lying with Naruto, as still as corpses, with only my rhythmic breathing and his more laboured pants as proof of our living. It would take them until dawn to realize the truth. We would be far from here by then. With the Chakra mask I had placed around us, they would not notice that the bodies were clones.

Swooping Naruto over my shoulder, I walked right out, making sure to keep a Chakra bubble (or lack thereof) around myself as I left; it wouldn't do to have someone notice the movement of our chakra. As soon as I was outside I noticed just how soon dawn would be. The sky was already a peachy orange glow. We didn't have as long as I'd imagined. Oh well. I took of running immediately, keeping a firm grip on the blond as I flew through the trees surrounding the caves. It took minutes to pass the foliage and then we were running free.

I didn't stop…I kept running until dawn was well on its way. I don't really get tired anymore. So I didn't want to sleep. There's nothing to want any more. And yet, I felt myself pushing harder, running faster, when I thought of them catching us. There is nothing for someone with no purpose to want, and yet I wanted this. I wanted this enough to make it come true.

Eventually I stopped, just outside the border of the fire country; I don't know where the hideout had been – I never paid attention to petty details like that – but I would recognise this border anywhere. It was the one that lead me to Konoha; the place I'd never return to. It was at this border that I realized we had nowhere to go. Nowhere to run where we wouldn't be found. I deftly made my way under the cover of the forest foliage nearby. This place reminded me of the forest of death…shows how identifiable the fire country is; there isn't anywhere else that holds such natural beauty, not that I care of that; my mother always said that there was nowhere prettier and she was always right.

I set Naruto against one of the larger trees, preparing myself for the lecture I'd be given after I did this. The jutsu took only a moment to withdraw, but I knew it would take a while for him to wake, I wondered what I'd tell him, but what was there to say except the truth?

I saved him on a whim.

** _…_ **

**There you go! This is just the prologue, kinda…to introduce you to it C: I hope you liked.**

**And wow, did it take me ages to figure out how to work this site -.-**

**Xx..xX**

 


	2. Home

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

_

**…**

_

**Home**

"Excuse me, teme?" I ignored his outburst, it's not as though I hadn't dealt with his nonsense before; this was no different. Besides, I'd predicted that he would have this reaction once I told him returning to Konoha was impossible…but honestly – to act so childishly – it was to be expected from someone like him. In any case, he would never make it there since Akatsuki were bound to be heading in that direction already, and even if he did manage to get there, he'd only bring the group down on the whole village. He'd never do something like that. Which brought me to my next unnecessary annoyance; he thought it was all my fault.

"If you go back, you'll kill not only yourself, but half the village too, when Akatsuki comes for you." I spoke calmly, sure to keep myself apathetic; it wouldn't do to show him how much his whining irritated me. This whole situation irritated me. He panted where he stood, outrage clearly etched onto his face. What did he expect me to do? He should be more grateful; he'd be dead if it weren't for me.

"But! But everyone will think I'm dead! Where will we go? And I need to become Hokage; I can't go running off with a missing nin! You're just lying to me, you bastard, and I know it! You just don't want to come back home!" I snorted at that, but he didn't seem to notice as he continued his angry rant. Whatever, he could suit himself; I didn't care. It's not as though Konoha was my home, it hadn't been home for a long time and never would be again – when would he accept that? And how long would I need to deal with him until then?

I sighed minutely, he wouldn't notice, too caught up in his panic…hn, idiot. Why had I saved him again? Oh yeah; the whim. You don't decide whims, they just occur. I suppose though, at least I'm not bored now. He keeps things interesting, that's for sure. But where would we go? I don't know why I'm staying with him – it just seems a waste to save him and then leave him for dead…I might as well have spared myself the trouble if I did that. I'm not that stupid. And like I said; he was entertainment.

So…now came the difficulty of where we could retreat to. We weren't going to hide; I don't think I could stand him for any length of time so it was completely out of the question…besides – I wasn't going to hide like some weakling. I frowned when dirt was kicked onto my leg. It was my fault – I should have expected it – what with Naruto pacing on the forest floor and me sitting by a tree trunk; of course with all his dramatics he'd manage to kick dirt onto my leg. I brushed it off without a word; he hadn't noticed anyway and I wasn't going to give him another reason to rant.

We couldn't go to any hidden village – all ninja would recognise us and our cover would be dead before it had even breathed the air of life. Hn…what if we didn't go to a hidden village…what if we went to a 'normal' village. It would be so much less likely that we'd get caught, but it would be much harder to mask ourselves; to act as we were expected when we knew little of what was expected. I don't think Naruto could do it. I could, of course. But he's a dobe and would probably ruin our plan on arrival.

He was right in front of my face, I noticed, his large blue eyes staring intensely into my own coal irises. What did he want? A picture? It probably would last longer since if he didn't back off he was sure to get himself punched. Sadly, he moved away so I lost my reason to hurt him. Oh well. He sat beside me, resting his back against the thick mossy bark as I was.

"We have to contact them. I can't leave them thinking I'm dead. I just can't." His eyes were pleading when he turned back to me, only for a moment though, as his small mind was quickly distracted by the wood chips on the ground around of us. We were in a small clearing where light reached from a space high above us and it bounced off his forehead protector and right onto his hand in strange patterns. He seemed enthralled by it. Simple minds… I sighed again; this was ridiculous. I really don't know why I saved him; I'll never get rid of him now.

"I'll send something when we decide where to go from here." I hadn't been expecting an intelligent remark to come from his mouth, let alone for him to drop that subject so immediately, so I was a mildly surprised by his response;

"I went a lot of places with Ero-sennin…I have a good place we could go to and be safe." I didn't look at him as he spoke – he never did what I wanted, why should I look at him when I knew that was what he wanted? He's always wanted my attention. Hn, idiot. There are more important things in life than being noticed. But he continued to stare into the side of his face so I growled low in my throat; a warning to stop. He didn't heed it.

Just as I turned to tell him what exactly I thought of him, he smiled. Great; I'd just given him the attention he craved. I made sure to look at him with the disgust I felt; he was nothing. But he smiled and then that damned feeling pooled in my stomach, it clawed and scratched, begging to be acknowledged. I ignored it.

Instead I said "We need to be somewhere without Ninja." Best to tell him things straight, otherwise he might not understand. I raised an eyebrow when his bright grin didn't flicker; he's such a freak.

"You're really here…talking to me!" I snorted, well duh, I hoped he wouldn't continue to point out the obvious; it annoyed me. "I mean, I've wanted this for as long as you left. I just wish…that I could take you home." He reached out to touch my hand with his grubby, earthy fingers. I snatched it away before he could contaminate me. Annoyingly, he still didn't look disheartened. He was talking like I was some girl he wanted to screw - ridiculous.

I ground my teeth and snarled as I spoke; conveying my message clearly "Don't touch me." This time he had the decency to stop smiling, but he still stared at me, so I figured I'd leave him be. It was my fault after all – I wouldn't be forced to deal with his nonsense if he were dead.

"Um…yeah, it's a little civilian village on an island we once went to. I don't remember how to get there, but it was kind of near Taro Island…it's at the bottom of…" I knew where it was; it was above Haha Island* and just a little bit away from the tea country. If this place he spoke of was of any use then it had to be secluded from the Ninja villages that would notice us most. Going somewhere south sounded good - it wasn't a bad idea.

I stood up, brushing the remnants of chipped bark and dried mud off my clothing. Still feeling Naruto's eyes on me, I didn't turn to look at him as I began walking. If we had been in the mountains between Oto and Taki when we were at Akatsuki's cave, then we'd be up north of Fire country; in the forest near the valley of the end. I toyed with passing by, just to make Naruto uncomfortable – that might make him shut up. He was still talking. Babbling on about something unnecessary I'd bet. I didn't even bother listening. Everything he spoke was of no interest to me now. How else would I stand him other than ignoring him when he wasn't asked a direct question?

I decided not to pass the valley of the end. If we cut straight down through the Fire countries middle then we'd get to the tea country faster, however, that would mean crossing Konoha and Otafuku Gai which wasn't really an option since we were trying to lay low. Our best bet was probably to cross the fire country straight south till the ocean from here, and then following the beach all the way around until we got to the tip of tea country. Crossing the water would be another obstacle but I would deal with that problem when it arose.

In the mean time we continued forwards through the dense forest, walking at a casual pace until the boredom began to sink in again and I had to change something; no way was I going to start listening to Naruto's pointless blabber, so I hastened my speed and took to the treetops – just as I thought, the dobe followed close behind, no doubt still rambling on.

I wasn't very sure how long passed before I just had to listen to him, maybe minutes, more than likely hours, either way I didn't give it much thought. It seems that Naruto had finally caught onto my ignoring him; he must not have liked it. He always did strive for attention, especially from me. Still, I was a little startled when his voice cut through the acrid silence. I was almost thankful for the action; it would probably entertain me for a moment. I should have taken the detour to the valley of the end.

"Hey, teme! Are you even listening to me?" I wanted to ignore him, but with the tedious boredom looming over my head, I just had to say something. So I snorted and said "No, are you surprised?" An indulgent huff was my reply before a booming voice yelled out to me from my right; I didn't turn to look for him, for all I'd see were the trees flying by between us. My predictions told me that he was nearer than he should have been though, since he'd always been weaker than me, Hn, I must have been slacking. I picked up speed.

"Why the hell did you save me then, asshole?" It was strange, not only did he sound only half as angry as he had a moment ago, but I also found myself needing to answer. Not just for the annoyance, but also for myself. The question swam around my head, faster and faster – even when I silenced the consistent wailing, it continued to beat at my skull – my pride – my answer.

"It was a whim." I had no need to divulge any more useless information because there was none; it was as simple as it sounded. The question in my mind was not satisfied.

"Like hell it was!" the anger was back with a vengeance, it seems Naruto wasn't satisfied either. "A whim is something you do, like…just because! Randomly! You went out of your way to save my life…why? And at the risk of your own? Just like with Haku…" He trailed off, his voice thick with something I didn't care to place; my anger smouldered too much for that. I didn't care what he thought, or felt, all I wanted to do was rip his head off his orange-clad shoulders – I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to kill him!

He'd made that awful feeling come back! I didn't understand it – this thing that pulled at my chest and squeezed at parts of me I didn't even know existed any more – and whatever I don't understand has to be bad; this was very bad. I turned my head towards him - the one who was obviously causing this weird and absolutely hated feeling inside me - a piercing glare tearing through the distance separating us. I could see him now, he was in clear view; his form seemed to glide through the primitive movements as he jumped from tree to tree, as if he didn't look like an animal, as if he wasn't just an idiot. The way he was looking at me, though, stopped my glare dead in its tracks.

I could feel my face fall automatically back into my neutral – emotionless – mask. Only it wasn't a mask, as hebi had come to call it, it was just my face; just me showing the only feeling I really had any more – nothing. It used to be my defence, a long time ago, before I'd lost my purpose. Not any more, not until now. But I couldn't defend my mind, no matter how hard I tried. That was the only defence I ever needed now…protection from my nightmares…my memories…this craziness that had corrupted my sanity so suddenly. Everything was piling up in my head, I couldn't think properly with everything whirling around like a tornado, destroying all sense of reason; the question, the feeling, the memories…I had to get away.

Naruto didn't stop looking at me as I sped off ahead, for I continued to feel his gaze searing my back, in fact he seemed to slow down slightly, as if letting me take the lead; hn, as if he needed to; I was far superior. I didn't continue to dwell on it though. Thinking more on that would only ignite more flames in my inferno of confusion, so I let it go. I fell back into my boredom, but I didn't need to tune out Naruto's insistent blabber this time. He didn't speak again.

We broke free from the trees late the next day, the sun was on the verge of setting but we hadn't rested at all. I wouldn't let us rest – not that the nuisance had suggested it. If we continued at the speed we were going then we'd reach the south coast by mid day tomorrow. I wouldn't stop then either; we had no time to loose; we couldn't get caught. We wouldn't.

The open plains were so familiar to me…they brought a sense of nostalgia that I wasn't comfortable with…In the distance mountains roamed – though they were too far away for even my eyes to see – and I remembered the nights I'd spent there back before I left Konoha. A sigh fought for freedom from my throat, but I pushed it back behind bars, it wouldn't do to express just how annoying I found Naruto's pursuits. Why did he want to force my return 'home' so badly anyway? Isn't it clear that if I left for a reason, then it would be nothing but foolish to go back…And no I did not just quote my…brother…I was not foolish, and I didn't have a home to return to.

I once loved the feeling of running through these open plains, feeling the wind rush through my hair until it was so tousled I couldn't run my fingers through it. But now, as I ran at full speed through the barren lands, I couldn't bring myself to feel anything. So the thick, cool air stuck to my sweat covered body and refreshed me in a way much different to a shower – though I'd had to make do with less of them these past few years – and the wind whipped at my face, my hair, my clothes, just like I used to love. So what? It's just wind. It's just air. I just don't care.

I felt that way about Naruto too. It was something I could never let go of, for some reason I just couldn't allow him to be gone, and yet his presence brought nothing to me. Other than a few weak moments when he'd cause that…feeling…to consume my mind, I couldn't care less what he was doing, where he was, or who he was with. Yet I had saved him; though on a whim, it was not the first time I'd done it. The third in fact. So I did not care, but wouldn't let him die. Like the air I breathed, I couldn't stop; I couldn't let it go, even though it meant nothing to me. If I did, I would die. Hn, what a stupid thing to think…

I was just causing myself more hassle in the long run. I shouldn't bother with him. For instance, if he wasn't here with me right now, I'd be doing something far more productive than running through dead plains. Yet I'd also be thinking of something much different than this…which wasn't necessarily a good thing, as I'd probably be bored out of my mind. Either way; I didn't give a damn, because I had saved him and I was running through these dead plains so there really was no use in thinking any more on the subject.

I wouldn't deny that I'd expected Naruto to attempt a conversation in the time we'd spent since yesterday. Yet he'd said nothing, and I found that strange, in a nagging, almost foreboding sort of way. I felt as though this trip to an unknown island would lead to something more than just safety. I felt as though things were going to change. I didn't know what to think of this apprehension so I put it behind me. The dobe might just feel awkward after his little rant, hn, I smirked, serves him right.

For the rest of our travels across the plains and past the mountains I thought of hebi. It was boredom that drove me to it. I just had to wonder if they were dead yet. I could imagine their outrage as they'd realized, along with Akatsuki, that we were gone. Karin might have cried for my loss, she might have begged for her life, but I couldn't imagine it. Just like I couldn't imagine them being alive at this point.

No matter how useful they had been to me as tools since I'd left Orochimaru, they were nothing to Akatsuki; just nuisances that insisted on following me. There would be no reason to keep them alive…and letting them go was not an option; they knew too much. But I couldn't resist thinking of finding them one day – once all this was behind me, would I stumble upon them in years to come and marvel that their lives had been spared? Would I care then? I doubted it, if I didn't care now, why would I care then?

When had I become so heartless? Even when I was with Orochimaru I still cared to spare the lives of anyone I could. I still felt hatred towards him and Kabuto. I was still horrified by the looks he would send me sometimes, though I knew he would never act on his lecherous thoughts; my body was too valuable to damage. If it were now, I don't think I'd care, I don't know if I'd even care if he did act upon his desires. See? Thinking about it doesn't even disgust me.

I do feel horrified sometimes, but only at myself. At what I've become. But no matter how hideously twisted I am, I do still wish it was different. I catch myself sometime, dreaming about a life other than this one; what If I'd let Itachi live; what if I'd let Orochimaru have my body; what if I'd let Naruto take me back to the village he called home; what if I'd let myself call it home too; what if…what if they'd never died. What if my family were still alive, what kind of person would I be? Surely not this hollow existence. But I don't know, and I'll never know, and because things aren't that way, I'll probably never care. And I wish I did…I wish I could.

"Hey, bastard!" A hand reached out to grab me, but I slapped it away with a snarl. I saw the well concealed hurt flash through Naruto's eyes, but I didn't want him to touch me. We stood for a moment, doing nothing but staring at each other. Once I'd stopped moving I realized how far we'd come. We were standing on a beach; so we'd finally reached the coast. Had we been travelling along it? I wasn't very sure. It was strange for me not to notice such a thing, but sure enough, as I cast a look over Naruto, his clothes were blotched with grains of sand, his shinobi sandals covered in the creamy, almost silver sand of the fire country. Fire country had creamy coloured sand, while the wind country was more red-orange, and the tea country had a silver tone to theirs. It was my way of telling where we were.

I disregarded my clumsy observation skills as I noticed that it was day. Trying to calculate where we should be since we'd clearly been running along the coast for some time, I came to the conclusion that we must have slowed down. After Naruto's outburst the other day, I'd planned out that it would take until noon the next day to reach the beach, and that was at our current speed, but we'd ran far more than that. I almost sighed when I realized we were a day behind. We should have been in the Tea country, and though, by the colour of the sand, it didn't look far off, we should have already been there. How had I managed to let myself slip up?

"We should rest, Sasuke." I was startled that he'd used my name, but I felt _the feeling_ – as I'd taken to calling it - swell inside me so I tried not to let my mind focus on that. My eyes swept over him again; although his clothes were tattered and blood stained, messed by the wind and sand, dirty from our trek through the mountains where mud was abundant, the boy looked fine to me. There was nothing in his face or the way he held his body to show that he was tired.

"Why would we rest? You look fine to me." But he shook his head at me, creamy flakes of sand falling onto his shoulders with the movement. A look that seemed almost like humour flickered over his features but before I had time to consider it further he spoke again.

"I wasn't talking about me. You look like a zombie, and you're getting really slow. I don't want you to collapse on me." Even as he said such a thing, though, the humour stayed on his face and seeped into his voice. It made me angry. I was not tired. I counted how long it had been since I'd rested…the last time I slept was before we left to set up the trap for Naruto, two days before the confrontation, I'd stayed with him three days in the cave, and then we'd been travelling for little under four days. So all in all I'd not slept in about nine days. Perhaps my body was feeling somewhat exhausted. It didn't mean we had to stop.

"We're not stopping." I made sure my voice was as firm as it could be, but the dobe was never one to catch on to things like that. "Nah, nah, teme. We should rest up. Maybe we could go by some hotel somewhere…" My anger flared; a hotel? Sure the beach wasn't the best place to camp but, what the hell did he think this was, a holiday?

"Does it look like there is a hotel around here we can just drop into? We don't even have any money." Which was true, I had no need for it any more, and Akatsuki had striped Naruto of anything he had on him.

"I'm just trying to help! You should see yourself! The bags under your eyes couldn't get any darker; you look like you're going to drop dead any moment. You look ill…" All humour was gone from him now and I noticed that he was worried…great. At least he had the decency to look offended at what I'd said. I really couldn't be bothered arguing with him, not when _the feeling_ was approaching again. So I sighed and told him we'd rest a bit when we reached the border to the Tea country. He didn't seem completely satisfied but we began moving anyway.

This time when he spoke I couldn't even be bothered to tune him out. His worthless comments didn't entertain me in the slightest, and I never once pretended they did. I didn't respond to anything he said, not even when he addressed me. Still, he kept on talking, seemingly undeterred by my nonchalance as he acted as though I was interested and I was responding. It was really sad to see, and I didn't understand but I wished he didn't care about me, because I knew I didn't deserve it. _The feeling_ didn't show itself again though, and I was thankful for that.

It seemed I hadn't miscalculated this time since we reached the border to the tear country before dark. There was a small patchy circle slightly inland that I took him to, it was really nothing but a small sand dune but it would be better for sleeping than out in the open, at least here we were surrounded by ferns. I lay myself down on my back, closing my eyes and letting the comfort of just resting sooth my muscles. It didn't last long until Naruto interrupted me.

"Hey…uh, Sasuke. You still haven't sent any word to Konoha, and we're about to leave the fire country. I need them to know I'm alive." I peeled open my eyes and looked at him; he wasn't even lying down. Man, he was so annoying. And persistent. Hn, well if I sent a clone I knew it probably wouldn't even get passed the gates, not like I hadn't thought of that earlier. He was bound to want to contact his 'home' at some point after all.

I didn't even get up when I formed my clone and transformed him into a bird, let alone did I speak to the nuisance. Only when my raven slouched down beside me did I bother to move, I took the paper he had in his mouth - he was my messenger raven - and propped myself up on the side of our dune. Funnily enough there was a small rock at the side where I scrolled my neat Chakra-formed handwriting into the paper.

_

Tsunade,

_

 

_

Naruto is with me. He isn't with Akatsuki any more.I took him from them a few days ago, so there is a chance that they will come looking for him at Konoha. I won't tell you where we are going, but if you use my raven clone here then you can contact us whenever.  
Don't worry, I won't kill him.

_

 

_

Sasuke.

_

With that, I rolled my small letter up and gave it back to my raven, he took it, as a well trained bird would, into his beak and then he was off. I had no need to tell him where to go; I'd transferred that information when I created him.

I turned my eyes to Naruto; he was at least lying down now. Good, it wouldn't do for him to keep me from sleep any longer when it had been him who'd insisted that we rest in the first place. Hn, damn that fox for keeping his energy up. I heard a rumble and closed my eyes tighter, if he complained about hunger I'd seriously consider killing him, regardless what I'd written in the letter.

"Saaaasuke…" Oh god. "I'm kinda…hungry. Do you think I could get something from a town in tea country or something?" See, he is selfish. He never thought of my health at all. Wanting to go to a town – hotel - was only so that he could get food to fill his own needs. Hn, whatever, he can do what he wants.

"I'm not hungry. Haven't you learned to go without food for long periods? You're a ninja." It was true; Ninja were expected to survive much longer without food than any civilian could. But Naruto never was much good at stealth. His stomach grumbled again.

"Sheesh, stingy or what! No wonder you're so skinny." Now he was really getting on my nerves; I am not skinny. I'm lean. And I was sure to let him know that.

"Pfft, yeah right. You've always been skinny. And I'm catching up to you in height. Soon, I'll be bigger than you in every way." I opened my eyes again; they'd closed of their own accord, and took a good look at him. I hadn't really studied his build in the times I'd seen him since leaving Konoha. He was right, in a way. Because he certainly wasn't skinny. Neither am I! But he had clearly toughened up since our younger years. He'd stripped himself of the bloody orange jumper and now lay with it covering him as a makeshift blanket, his destroyed shirt served as something to lie on. But where I could see, I knew had well defined muscle, I'd caught a glimpse of his abs and they were nicely shaped. It didn't make me jealous, not really, but it made _the feeling_ threaten me again, so I pulled my gaze away.

"I'm not skinny." I turned away from him, facing the side of the dune in favour of having his eyes rake up and down my chest, it didn't help that these damned clothes left me in such clear view either. Thinking of clothes though, we'd need to go into one of the towns after all. Because we couldn't even think of approaching a civilian village with these clothes on. I didn't know much about civilians but I knew that what they wore was much different than us. Ours were designed more for combat and stealth purposes after all. Well, perhaps Naruto could get away with what he wore, but his were completely covered in blood and tears so that was out of the question.

I didn't respond to his next ignorant retort at my build; he could think what he wanted, just because I didn't have a six pack and my stomach was flat, did not mean I was skinny. I had a high metabolism and my speed covered for my lack of muscle. I could still beat him any day. Idiot.

After a while lying there in silence, Naruto seemed to drift off, while I still lay awake in the dune, dreading when my mind would slip into slumber. I always dreamt, and they were always nightmares. I liked to put off sleeping as much as I could, but when it was necessary, it was necessary and in this case, though I didn't like to admit; it was necessary.

Turning over to face the skies I studied the clouds and the patterns that stretched out across my vision. It was…beautiful…I knew that, I could see that. The mix of colours, the separation of dark and light, it was extraordinary. But even though could acknowledge it, I could see it; I couldn't appreciate it. I couldn't see why it was pretty, or magnificent. All I could see was something that I knew, but didn't understand.

But…the way the sky was split in a way, a blue hue spread over half of my vision, clouds were scarce and the moon sat in the middle of it all. While on the other side was the sun, setting and surrounded by colourful hues of red, orange, pink, purple, gold…the clouds spiralled around the sun, making almost a celebration in the sky for it.

My attention was completely on the moon though, sitting there, alone in the sky, a plain blue background, darker and lonelier than anything I'd noticed before. Though the clouds moved around it, the moon was avoided, almost purposely, while the sun was its opposite, colourful, bright, and accepted by all the clouds and the glowing background.

It made my eyes sting in a strange way. It made me think of myself. Because the higher the moon got, and the further it reached towards the sun, the further away the sun went, disappearing slowly behind the burning horizon. Out of the moons reach, forever. Because, not matter how much the moon wanted to be with the sun, no matter how much it tried, it would never reach the happiness, the brightness, because it was the moon, and the moon is alone, small and insignificant amongst everything else. Ignored.

I wanted a sun; I wanted something to save me from the desolate darkness, the loneliness, the emptiness. I wanted a sun. I wanted a home. I wanted what the moon wanted. And I'd never get it. Because I didn't know what it was. I didn't know what the sun was. I didn't know…what was it? Where was it? My sun…

The morning came far too slowly for my liking. My night hadn't been any different to all the others I'd had over the years. It had been so long since I'd slept without a nightmare that I'd forgotten what peaceful slumber was like. Naruto was watching me as I opened my eyes. He seemed distracted in staring at me. Ch, at least he'd put his shredded jacket back on, I didn't need _the feeling_ to bother me today. I was in a bad mood.

Getting up, I straightened myself out immediately, not bothering to tell him about our detour, I left. It took Naruto a moment to catch up, but we stayed at a brisk walk for the rest of the way to a small beach town. It looked basic, the same design as most of the tea country's villages had - just simple houses and small buildings. I didn't waste time and headed straight for the main district where there was sure to be fashion stores, it was a purely civilian village, like the one we'd be going to, so I presumed there would be clothes to suit our purpose.

"Go get clothes. We'll need to fit in with the civilians when we get there." I told him, he looked contemplative for a moment and I seriously worried for his brain…he wasn't good at thinking.

"Should we get lots of them?" He asked me, his voice so serious it made me want to hit him. "You know…for a change when we get there, 'cause we might be dirty?" I shook my head at his stupidity, I didn't need this today.

"No, you fool, that would mean extra baggage. We can easily buy more once we get there if we need. Just go. I'll meet you at south end." I replied, he looked slightly upset by my words, and I was glad; serves him right for being so stupid. Honestly, goes to show what happens when he uses what little brain he has; trouble. I walked away, ignoring him as I focused on the task at hand. I just had to smirk a little; I used to like shopping, so Naruto might have a while to wait.

Sure enough, it was a few hours later when I finally found Naruto, already dressed and waiting by the exit. He didn't look to happy, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Well, his mouth was busy with other things, but I didn't care to contemplate how or where he'd stolen the sandwich from. We hadn't paid for anything, since we had no money, but this was a civilian village and we were Ninja. They didn't stand a chance.

Naruto was dressed in something hideous, as expected. My eyes trailed over his form, marvelling at the…sheer…I don't even have words to describe his fashion sense. I'd say pretty much non existent. He was wearing knee high boots, a weird silver and black colour, from which brown trousers emerged. I don't know where he got them from but they are hardly sensible wear for any form of human. They were brown and baggy and had strings of fabric connecting each leg together loosely…moving on, he was wearing a torn white top with splatters of red on, which I have a feeling I've seen before. So much for new clothes. And over that was a long hooded jumper, and I mean long; it reached to his thighs, orange and black striped.

I didn't say anything. I wasn't in the mood to even criticize him. He could do what he wanted. Idiot. I had gone for a more sensible and fashionable approach. Plain black slacks and a striped black and grey button up shirt over a blue shirt was what I was wearing; Naruto made a face that I assumed meant he'd expected me to wear something like that. Well, I didn't want to disappoint; because this was all about fashion wasn't it. Honestly…he frustrates me to no end.

Moving further south, we kept a steady pace, we couldn't go too fast because Naruto's trousers were tied together, yes it was loosely, but I wasn't going to take the chance of having him trip up and ruin his clothes because then we'd have to spend more time getting new ones. I'm not going to comment on his stupidity again, I don't think I need to. Nevertheless, Naruto seemed happy at his attire so I kept my mouth shut; I preferred him talking about whatever was going on in Konoha than him screaming at me about how much of a 'bastard' I am. I don't need told and frankly, it gets a little repetitive.

By the next morning we'd reached the tip of the Tea country. This was where I'd need to consider how to cross the water. I didn't want to go by boat, though that was an option. But I wanted there to be no proof that we'd crossed at all, and to do that we'd need to walk. I was perfectly okay with that. It was the best idea. But I didn't know quite how far it was to this Island, and walking on water used chakra. I wasn't sure if Naruto could do it; he'd never been good at chakra control.

Hn, great. So it looked like we didn't have much of a choice. Perhaps Naruto wouldn't be such a pain that he'd lose control and fall in the water whilst we were in the middle of the ocean. I thought I could trust him with that. If he fell I wondered if I'd save him again. Probably…I would have wasted my time otherwise.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme! Are we crossing by boat or what? 'Cause the harbour town is over that way." He gestured wildly in the other direction; it was pretty far in the distance, only a dot to our eyes. I didn't answer him, just stepped out onto the water. The sea was calm with little waves and I hoped it would continue in that way. It would be far easier to cross if the water stayed level.

"I take it we're not getting a boat then…" I heard the dobe mumble, I wasn't sure if it was directed at me so I didn't answer. If he didn't like my company then he shouldn't have insisted on dragging me back 'home' all the time. But then again, some people never learn. And this idiot was not going to grow a brain anytime soon, it seemed.

Though…that was a lie, something I knew was not true, and yet it seemed wrong to admit otherwise. But I just had to think of it as we continued across the water, the days passed and yet again we grew tired, and I had to admit…Naruto wasn't an idiot. He was when it came to me. But I knew for a fact that when I wasn't involved, the boy trailing behind me could actually be quite strategic. He could think things through and be rational, but for some reason he couldn't do the same when it came to me.

I'd be an idiot myself if I couldn't admit that. I'd never say it aloud though, but I could admit that small fact to myself. It made me wonder though…there were times when I couldn't think rationally when considering Naruto either, I didn't know why, but perhaps it was the same with Naruto. Perhaps, these whims that kept occurring regarding Naruto weren't whims at all. But that was foolish to think and I shouldn't be considering this in any case, because I didn't care about these things and therefore it was nonsense to me.

"Well…I guess we should greet the unknown island as it's named!" Was it just me or did Naruto's comments grow more and more unnecessary as they came? I looked up though, and sure enough, we were there. The island didn't look like much from here. Just a small patch of beach in a vast forest, but we both knew that behind the forest was a small village and as the broken, dirt-covered, deserted sign Naruto was pointing to read, that village was called 'Riera':

"_Okaeri Nasai; Riera"_

_**…**_

**Okay…so both Taro Island and Haha Island exist in the Naruto world…the map's here:**

[ **http://www[dot]leafninja[dot]com/country[dot]php** ](http://www\[dot\]leafninja\[dot\]com/country\[dot\]php) **. **

**And 'Okaeri Nasai' means 'welcome home'. The name of the village also happens to be my name in Japanese! Yay! Sorry…thought I'd include a little of myself in the story.**

**Oh yeah, and those new clothes that they are wearing, they'll be keeping those clothes for mostly the entire story, because in Naruto they never change their clothes hardly ever. So…yeah. I thought I'd keep it vaguely the same because that's how I imagine the Naruto world being.**

**Um, if you notice contradictions in Sasuke's thoughts, know that this is the way I pictured his mind being, undecided and confused, but not aware of it…just thought I'd let you know lol**

**Hope you enjoyed!Xx..xX**


	3. Plan

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Matashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**...**

**Plan**

This new island forestry was different to anything I'd seen before. The whole place was much different to the grassy hills of the tea country or the ferocious forests of the fire country. This place seemed more…tropical. It wasn't necessarily warm, not at the pace we were walking – from now on we were civilians and would use strictly common movements and actions – but the air seemed moist and the plants around us looked damp with dew. Even the floor was mossy, wet, yet it wasn't muddy. It was all very clean. I could get used to a place like this.

Naruto is following close behind me, I could hear from the squelching of his feet that he was finding it harder to move through the dense forestry than I was. What a loser. Sure, the trees were close together and you had to swerve from time to time in order to avoid puddles, but it certainly wasn't hard to move through, and as mentioned previously, it was not dirty either. I was particularly thankful for the latter fact since it meant we wouldn't need to purchase new clothes.

We couldn't risk stealing from anywhere now that we'd arrived, everything had to be strictly obedient and I was going to make sure we enrolled in everything we should. We couldn't stand out of the crowd; we had to blend in as though we really were civilians.

"Hey, Sasuke?" I smothered a sigh, what now?

"What?" I made sure to snap at him; he was more irritating the longer we stayed together; Sasuke this…Sasuke that…Sasuke…Sasuke…Sasuke. Argh! I needed to calm down. It wasn't his fault he had such little brains.

"Err…what are we gonna do…you know, when we get there. We don't have a place to live." He did have a point, but I'd already planned everything out. We'd get a job, we'd go to school…if we were expected to, perhaps they didn't go to school here as long as they did in Konoha. I knew in Konoha civilians were expected to attend school up until the age of sixteen. Whether the people here even attended school we'd need to find out later. As for where we'd sleep; I'd spotted a cave we passed a few hours ago and it seemed suitable enough for Ninja's like ourselves, with our strengthened senses we'd easily be able to cover for sleeping in a cave if we were found. We might do that until we could afford a place of our own from working. If I couldn't get something better that is. I'd rather not risk seeming odd.

"Sasuke-" He tried to contact me again, probably to repeat his question, but I silenced him with a harsh interruption.

"I will tell you what to do when it becomes necessary. I have everything figured out so just shut up." He grumbled a bit about me but I ignored it. I was unconcerned by his nonsense.

The foliage began to clear and soon we stumbled upon a small path, it was heading north east from where we stood but I didn't hesitate to follow it. There could only be one village on an island this small. And by common sense a path like this was bound to head to it. Sure enough, as I'd predicted, we found the entrance to the village Riera very soon. I heard Naruto puff a bit behind me, and was surprised by his actions…was he actually using his head for once? If we were not ninja then we would surely be worn out even by the short – for our standards - walk from the shore. I pretended he wasn't taking our situation into account. He must have really been tired.

Taking a look around at the village, I soon realized that this may not be as difficult as I'd first presumed. The people walking by us as we walked slowly down the main street took no notice of us, short glances and small frowns were all we got. Occasionally someone would smile and I knew that Naruto smiled back every time; it was just his nature. I didn't bother. Acting like a civilian did not entail acting nice. Stopping where I estimated was the centre of the street, for it was where the most shops were situated as well as people, I turned to Naruto sternly.

"Okay. I want you to listen carefully. I want no mistakes. You are to wander through town and look for jobs," he looked ready to interrupt but I spoke over him. "I want you to take a note of each with details of wages and working hours. Is that clear?"

"Well…what are you going to do? Why do I have to look for jobs?"

Sighing, I answered him reluctantly; why did he need to know so much? "I will be at the school. There is bound to be one here and we are going to atten-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sasuke! I don't wanna go back to school! Besides we can't go to school if we're working." He actually looked distressed at the idea, but I didn't give it a thought; he would do as I said.

"We will work part time, that is why you need the hours. Write everything down if you are incapable of remembering." And with that I took off walking again, passing him by without a glance, but I could feel his glare follow me up the street and smirked, if he actually thought it would make me take that back he had another thing coming.

Passing a shop I peered through the window to check the time - it was half four in the afternoon. This place was rather warm for being further south. Usually the southern islands tended to be colder, yet this one seemed almost tropical. I noticed by what the people were wearing, some in jackets and others in trousers, while few wore skirts or shorts, that this was probably a colder day for this village.

Following a few more road directions and guessing my location, I unbuttoned my over shirt, taking pleasure in the feeling of the very light breeze sinking more easily through my clothes and onto my skin. I kept my mind on the target as I moved though, paying only slight attention to the buildings around me and looking for only one. What I found instead of a school was three large buildings, only one and a half of which I could see.

I knew immediately, from the children emerging from one of the doors, that this was what I was looking for. Ignoring the smaller bodies I moved through the crowd and straight into the building, noting immediately that there was no protection around this place. I was a stranger to this town and yet it was easy for me to locate and enter the school with ease. This place…was not like anywhere I'd been before.

I made my way down the first corridor until I came to a door labelled as 'office'. I knocked once before entering. It was a quiet room with only one woman sitting at a desk, while a similar desk behind her was empty. She had red hair and a firm smile on her lips, certainly not someone Sasuke thought should be working in a school. Directly in front of her was a large wooden counter on which a few papers were stacked.

"Excuse me." I had to be polite, of course; I wasn't going to insult her before getting what I wanted. "Do you know where the headmaster is?" Because that was who I'd need to talk to.

She smiled sweetly at me and answered in a kind voice, "Yes, of course, it's the first door on the left as you leave this room; it'll say 'Mr Okido' on the door." Her voice didn't even sound forced, she genuinely seemed happy and nice. What a weird person. I nodded and left, hoping that this 'Okido' man would be less cheerful than that woman had been.

I reached the room without problem and sure enough, the name was on the door with small writing underneath saying 'headmaster's office'. It irritated me. I didn't bother to knock this time, figuring the man probably wouldn't mind since he would be gaining two new students. And as expected the man inside did nothing but smile joyfully at me and gesture at a seat in front of his desk.

This room was much different from the other in the same way that it was similar. Predictable. Boring. Bright; not the colours, they were simple and plain, but the atmosphere made me want to leave. Mr Okido, I presumed, sat behind a large mahogany desk in the centre of the far wall opposite the door. He looked…nice, for lack of a better word. He didn't look like a head master should look. Children couldn't be that great.

And this man certainly seemed to think things were great. His grin won over Naruto's by a mile, stretching over almost his entire freckled face. He was ginger and pale, with a small pointy beard at the tip of his chin, and a pointy little moustache to match. His suit was green and blue over his large, plump form, and from what I could tell he wasn't tall. He also looked a little young to master a school this big, but I didn't bother saying anything. I couldn't be too rude.

"Me and my friend just got here and would like to enrol ourselves here, I assume there are papers we will need to fill in or such?" this time he laughed, a large, boisterous laugh that filled the room and brightened the atmosphere yet again. I could almost feel my eyebrow twitch.

"Of course young lad. What do you know! I have some right here!" And with another giggle he produced a folder from a drawer behind the desk. I didn't pay much attention to him as he flipped through the files until he came across the one he wanted. I was glad when he began putting the folder back, though, the sooner I got out of there the better. This man was too…jubilant.

"Here we are! I've given you two of everything, that way your friend won't have to fill these out either. And here at Riera's learning facility we value human rights more than anything; you'll find no questions in those papers that you will be forced to answer." Again with that stupid laugh, "but we would like you to at least try heh." And then, when he actually winked at me, I wanted to grab him by the throat and shove him head first through his desk. I controlled the urge. It wasn't very strong anyway.

I was about to get out of that place when he stopped me again with his chirpy, painstakingly annoying voice. "Oh, and if you need anything…you know, any help with getting started out in this village. Since you're new and everything heh, don't hesitate-"

"We won't be needing any assistance in starting out." I interrupted abruptly, would this man ever stop?

Obviously not. "Oh, Hogwash! If you ever need anything I'll be right here to help you. I basically run this town and you can count on it that not a soul goes unhappy." I very much doubted that, and I said so before walking out, papers snatched from the table with a glare aimed at his jolly face. What nonsense did these people believe in…nobody goes unhappy? Ridiculous.

I sighed as I made my way through the village again, keeping an eye out for the dobe. My next problem was where we would rest, but that all depended on the job we'd get, and the job we got depended on the school hours, which I wasn't going to find out until I handed the papers back and received the introduction. I knew immediately who I'd be sending back tomorrow. Naruto would handle someone like that so much better than me, I wasn't afraid to admit that. Idiots often flock together.

Now where was the dobe?

You would think that, being such a small village, a blond idiot would be easy to find. Obviously that was not the case, since despite the assignment I had given him, I could see him nowhere. I'd walked the main street repeatedly; looking for him as he was supposed to be looking for jobs. My patience had nearly given out when I eventually found him.

His voice was what alerted me to his location – I could identify his loud, playful laugh anywhere. It came from a run down, two story building, quite obvious a bar, at the far end of the road, nearer the school than the entrance, surrounded by trees all along one side. As such it appeared to be at the end of the entire village. Taking a look backwards to the exit, I finally realised just how small this place was. Nevertheless, I entered the grungy looking bar with distaste. We would not be getting a job here. I refused to degrade myself.

Naruto knew immediately when I stepped in, bouncing over from where he'd gathered with two men and a woman at the bar. I glared at him and sneered, "What do you think you are doing here? In a disgusting place like this?" He just laughed again and grabbed me tightly by the arm, dragging me over to the bar stools where the people were waiting with amused smiles. I ripped my arm away from him when we got there; refusing to take the seat he pushed towards me. Looking down at the bar in hatred, I began calming my mind down. Trying to at least; I wanted out of there.

The lady standing with one of the men behind the bar – a tall, slim, brunette woman with an abundance of make-up coating her face – giggled deeply at me. "Well, you are a feisty one, aren't you?" I did not answer her. We had no business here and I didn't intend to stay. Stepping away from the bar, I prepared to leave; I'd wait for the dobe outside, if at all. But a strong, determined hand found the curve of my back, settling there and keeping me firmly in place.

"You can't go outside yet Sasuke." I couldn't believe the nerve this boy had. "These nice people here are gonna help us. I've told them our whole story and-"

"You've done what?" I couldn't help it, not only had he talked to me as though I were a mere child, but to have blown our cover when we'd been here less than a day…but I began to question Naruto's sanity for an entirely different reason as he promptly walked from the bar to the door, a frown on his face and his hand still in place. How many times had he pushed me around in a matter of minutes? I certainly would not stand for this. But I also could not cause a scene; not when we were so new to the village. I held my tongue, and my actions, as he stopped by the dirty mahogany door. We still weren't leaving?

He whispered to me, a strange expression on his face. It made the feeling appear within me once more and I closed my eyes to listen. "I didn't tell them the truth. I told them all I needed to and I'll tell you all that later. Don't worry, it actually helped…" he trailed off, taking us back towards the bar and I opened my eyes to see him smile again. Damn this feeling to hell! "As I was saying – not only are they gonna give us a job, but we'll get to live here too." I swore my eyes widened a fraction. He wanted us to live…here? But it was a bar. Not a very successful one, but a bar nonetheless. What was he thinking?

"Oh yeah, sure you boys can stay here. It ain't much, but upstairs the whole flat's free. Me and Siizo here live in a house along the edge of town so we don't need the room. Besides we'll let you stay for free if you don't complain about the wages." He winked at Naruto and the dobe laughed. What was I thinking, coming here? I hadn't met anybody sane since I'd stepped foot inside the village. I glared at them, but they just seemed to brush it off; like I didn't really matter. As though I was a mere child. They spoke to Naruto more maturely than they treated me.

I took a good look at them. The man who'd just spoken had his arm around the woman's waist – Siizo, he said her name was? – and she was leaning heavily on his broad shoulders. For such a thin lady she looked even skinnier beside him. Not that the man was fat…just…big. He reminded me of that man…Jiraiya, who Naruto had trained with. His hair was thinning too at the front and his face matched his body. To some this man might have looked intimidating but not to me; I was a ninja.

The last man, more like a boy since he only looked about twenty compared to the couple who seemed in their forties, slouched on the bar from our side, yet he didn't look like a customer; I guessed he might have been a barman or something. The place was dead anyway. He was a bit more like myself. He was lean and tall…well; I suppose he might have been slightly short for his age in comparison to me at fifteen. Unless I'd guessed wrong about his age. He wore dark casual clothes and looked more normal than anybody I'd seen in this village yet. His hair was blond, but in a dirty way, not like Naruto's which was more like florescent – annoying – and his skin was pale; he didn't seem to be paying much attention to the conversation so I forgot about him as I turned back to Naruto.

Why did the boy still have his hand on my back? "We will not work here."

Naruto looked aghast. "Teme! They are going to let us stay here for free! This is really great."

I shook my head and turned more to face him, his hand retracting with the movement. "No, dobe. They will pay us pennies" I heard the older man try to say something, but ignored him. "I don't want to work in a place like this."

"Shut up, Sasuke. This is a good deal and you know it, stop bitching!"

I almost gasped. Bitching! I growled, hoping he'd surrender. "This is a dingy little bar. We won't get paid enough for food and clothes, so getting to stay somewhere that is falling apart isn't exactly compensation."

"It's hardly falling apart, sure it's shabby but it just needs a little work…some paint and stuff. This is a good deal and if you don't take it, I will. You can go and find somewhere else to stay if you're going to be so bitchy!" I sneered at him; I wish he wouldn't call me that!

"I am not being bitchy, I'm thinking with my brain. Something I don't expect you to understand since you don't have one!" He actually scoffed at me. I can't believe him, scoffing at me!

"Oh come on, you're the bitchiest person I know, even worse than Ino! This place ain't bad Sasuke. This is the best we're going to get."

"Ch, do you even remember what the other options were?" He probably wouldn't since the friendliness I sensed here suggested he'd been nearly nowhere else.

"I remember all the ones I went to. This is the best we'll get; I don't want to sleep outside till we work up enough money for a stupid hotel. This will be ours!"

Hardly, it would still be theirs and they'd pay us nothing….I didn't want to work in a bar! "We're not working here."

My head snapped round when the man from behind the bar laughed. "It's okay lad. We'll pay you fine enough. It won't be the best but it will be good for the living arrangements. We pay young Riki -" he gestured the man at the bar "- the same and he don't complain. We'll even let you guys live here, just 'cause you got nowhere else." He paused for a moment, but I only glared at him. He'd interrupted our argument. But as I turned back to Naruto, I found I didn't want to argue. What was that point? I didn't care anyway.

"The name's Kippomaru, by the way, Sasuke. Naruto's told us all about you." I sniffed, how dare this man call me by name; he didn't even know me.

"Where's the room?" At this Naruto hopped up and down beside me, a grin lighting up his whiskered face. I wondered if he'd found a good excuse for them, but in my mood I didn't ask. I wanted to see for myself what a state we'd be living in.

"Yay, Sasuke! I'll Show you right now! Come on!" He reached out to grab me again, but I pulled away; he'd had his hands on me far too much for my liking. Physical contact was something I despised. It brought things inside me to the surface that I'd rather stay hidden. I didn't miss the look on Naruto's face as he turned to lead me up the stairs, telling Kippomaru – 'Kippo' he addressed him as – that he'd be back in a minute. I wouldn't be.

He took me through a door at the side of the bar, and up a set of stairs to the side. The room behind the bar appeared to be nothing more than for storage. It was quite big too, what a waste of space. The stairs spiralled as we ascended and I could actually imagine they might have looked nice once upon a time.

The staircase lead into a small rectangular room, what I took to be the living room, which had two windows along the length of one side – The one I presumed was at the front of the building - a door at the far side, and two more doors on the back wall. Furniture was scarce. I'd expected that since he said no one lived here. But there wasn't even a television; just two scruffy couches and a coffee table. With a small huff I walked through the first door on the right.

It was a kitchen. To be honest I was rather surprised by it. Not that it looked any cleaner than the rest of this place, but it was equipped with what looked like a washing machine, and a cooker, and a microwave, and a refrigerator, not to mention a little round dining table. There was a sink with a window above it, letting light into the room and bringing the dust nodes to life. Hn, the room was small but I'd admit it was adequate for the two of us. If anything actually worked that is.

I walked out and through the second door on this wall, ignoring Naruto as he enquired about my opinion. This one was a bedroom, the only one in this flat I guessed, and it was small. I was, again, surprised that it fit a double bed in it, not to mention the long wardrobe against the wall. I was uninterested in this room and so wondered through the only door left; hoping that this one would not be as bad as I expected.

It wasn't. It was worse. This was the bathroom. Not that there was a bath, no, but there was a shower, coated in so much dust and mould that I had to turn my eyes away. The toilet faired a little better but the water inside was a filthy brown colour and the whole room stank. I quickly turned around and left, shutting the door behind me.

I turned angry eyes to Naruto, but when he opened his mouth the say something, I punched him. Hard. Not hard enough to draw attention to us, but hard enough to draw a satisfactory groan from his body as he lay on the floor. That was for touching me.

Because believe it or not, I was actually more upset about him putting his hands on me and pushing me around than I was about this apartment. Because, having looked around, I liked it. I could picture it the way I wanted it. I could picture it being a good little flat after I was through with it. Maybe not the best, since it was above a dingy bar…but that could also be mended. I would think of ways to make this place successful and up our wages. I would make a plan.

Speaking of which…

"Fucking idiot. What the hell did you think you were doing, Naruto? Changing all of my plans, and ordering me around like some insignificant child." Naruto's deep blue eyes stared up at me from his position on the floor and that fucking feeling pooled in the bottom of my stomach. I almost felt bad for hitting him. The poor boy had thought he was doing what was best. "What story did you give them anyway?" I took a seat on the ground in front of his, my legs crossed as I watched him get into a more comfortable position. I though he might shout at me for the punch, but he didn't. Probably knew he deserved it. Probably knew it had been coming.

"I told them we were from a little village inland, didn't give them a name, I'm not that imaginative, but I don't think they really cared anyways…erm, I said that there was trouble there and that we were poor and were forced to leave. I said we were orphaned brothers who came here looking for work and education, you know, since you said we had to go to school here, I figured I'd stick to the plan. And that was about it, they pretty much offered us this place if we worked for...um…£40 a shift, I think it was…but it is different depending on how long the shift is."

He looked at me then, his eyes boring into my soul in a way that I hated but he'd always managed to succeed at. I felt as though he could see right through me. But all I could say was; "You said we were brothers?" I knew my face must have broken its usual indifference, but it was just…so stupid. We looked nothing alike. And the thought pissed me off. Why the hell did he want us to be brothers so much? I didn't want him as a brother.

He laughed a little, seeing his silliness. "Yeah, well, I said that we were step brothers; that your mom married my dad so…yeah." I felt like arguing with him, but I couldn't be bothered. I was tired. I was sitting on a dusty wooden floor in an unfamiliar village where the people were so weird I almost couldn't stand it. I just couldn't be bothered.

"Hey…Sasuke?" he said again after a moment of silence. I couldn't even muster the energy to scowl or snap at him.

My reply was clearly tired. "What?"

"Are you okay? You know…with this?" For a moment I wasn't sure what he meant, but when I realised he was talking about our accommodation I grunted, knowing he'd understand. I didn't care. The silence returned and I stared out the window, you could hardly see through the glad due to stale dust and deal insects, not to mention the spider webs.

"…Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Is it okay if I go back down? I want to talk with Rizzo and Kippo some more." He sounded so hopeful, as if my answer meant everything, although I knew he'd go with or with or my permission.

I felt myself sigh, but heard nothing. "…whatever."

"Where will you sleep tonight?" He asked, almost immediately following it with "'cause I'm taking the bed."

"I don't care. I wouldn't sleep in that dusty bed anyway. I'll clean everything tomorrow and…sleep on the floor tonight." He seemed slightly disheartened but I couldn't tell why.

"Well…I'm gonna go back down now…you sure you're okay?" Why…did I look sad to him or something?

"Go." And he did, but not before pausing at the staircase, turning back to me with a frown and saying, "didn't you get something on the school today?" Hn, and I'd almost forgotten about it. I knew it was early in the evening, but I couldn't be bothered filling out the forms tonight. We'd do it in the morning.

"I have everything sorted. I'll tell you in the morning about it."

At that he looked even more disheartened, but nodded and left me alone. I sighed and stretched out on the floor, wincing at the thought of the dust clinging to my clothes. I should have been grateful; I had a roof over my head. But I could only feel slightly bemused. I don't know why I felt so tired. I knew, technically it was expected since we'd been travelling so long with only one short break. But I was different. I don't get tired any more. I haven't in so long.

In all honesty I feared sleep. I feared my nightmares and I feared waking from them. Because my life was almost the same as my dreams; a nightmare. Yet for the first time in a long time, I actually wanted to rest, and as my eyes grew heavy and slid closed, I couldn't help that my lips twitched at the sound of Naruto's laughter drifting up from the bar below. Perhaps…this wouldn't be so bad.

_The yelling was insistent, causing my head to throb and pound in distress; wouldn't this stupid kid just shut the hell up? He was only about 10; the boy. Barely old enough to be a ninja. I wished we could shut him up, but not even my paralysis jutsu couldn't get past his secure mind and so the rest of Akatsuki were trying to shut him up the 'easy way'. Well…it had been called the easy way up until now._

_The boy wouldn't shut up though, yelling and cursing about "wretched animals", "monsters", "inhuman barbarians" and other general insults. It was getting the others frustrated. It was usually the jinchuuriki's who were labelled as 'monsters'. I just watched from the sidelines. I have to say that I've never felt so out of place. I knew, for the first time since I'd joined, that I really didn't belong there. Oh well…whatever._

_I saw them dragging the kicking, raging boy over to the circle and vaguely wondered what they were doing. It took me only moments to realise. They had run out of patience. They were going to do it with him conscious. I'm not sure how I knew, but at that moment I knew it wasn't going to be nice. I watched, numbly, as they strapped him down, because he was still fully able to walk and they couldn't risk that._

_I felt sick. I'd never really killed anyone before. Nobody innocent. Nobody like this child before me. He was just a child, panting and screaming, and now, begging. I turned my head away, looking at the wall and the rest of Hebi as they stood beside me. I could tell by the looks on their faces that none of them enjoyed what was happening._

_"Please" the boy begged, his voice tearing my eyes back to him and I stared into his coal black eyes, watery and pleading. "I don't want to die…please. I don't understand, I never did anything wrong…" I stared, keeping my face apathetic as he wept on the stone floor. We were in some sort of old basement this time. It was cold and the boy shivered, though I didn't think it was from the icy air, more than likely it was from the sobs that wracked his little body. _

_I felt sick. This was so wrong. I'd seen people die before, I'd seen many ninja fall when I was with Orochimaru. But they were fighters, they were strong, they fought for their lives and died for their own purpose. Those people, I knew, had killed others. I knew those people were skilled killers. Even the ones that may not have killed…they were not innocent. They were all dangerous, mercenaries or pawns who willingly gave their lives to the snake.This little boy. He was no killer. He wasn't a mercenary or a pawn. He was just a little boy. This was nothing I'd seen before. The only name I could find for this was murder. They were going to murder him, and I stood by and watched as my uncle approached him. I watched, cold heartedly as he raised a fist and hit the boy, sending his small body slamming down onto the ground with a sickening thud. I watched as he told the boy – the innocent child – that he was nothing, that he was just a monster, that he was worthless and that nobody would come to save him because of those reasons._

_I felt sick. But I watched as Akatsuki got into position, as they began this thing they called a 'ceremony'. I could hear the eyes opening, the feeling of the demon chakra spilled through the air and the child screamed again, in fear, in shock, in desperation. He begged for his life but they could not hear him, or chose to ignore him. But I watched. I couldn't take my eyes off him. They had reduced him to nothing, in only a matter of moments since they had tied him up, they had made him plead for his life. All the way here this boy had been so strong. He'd shouted and tore at them with his nails, insulted them and yelled in anger, his small frame bursting with rage. But now…now he was reduced to a scared little child. No…he was always a child, he was just scared in the beginning. He didn't understand._

_It was then that the screaming really started. His body stopped moving and he was thrown down on his back, the muscles in his arms and chest – which was bare from his struggling – twitched from the strain and pain. His voiced echoed in the cellar, this dungeon we were in. His pain was so obvious that my headache was left forgotten as I watched him in horror._

_Small pools of black chakra seeped from his open mouth and dribbled from the corners of his eyes, soaked with tears. Every opening on his body was used for extraction; his eyes, his ears, his nose, mouth, fingers, toes. Blobs of that hideous chakra floated out through the fabric of his torn trousers and he screamed. So loud and with a voice so broken and pained that I couldn't stand it. I turned and walked from the room, though the long corridors, and though the entry of this place. I don't even know where we were and at that moment I couldn't think of anything but what I'd just witnessed. What I knew was still happening from the muffled noises that carried through the walls._

_He was still screaming._

_I was sick._

_It didn't take long for Hebi to join me. Karin's eyes were wide and unblinking and Juugo looked as though he was going to cry. Nobody asked me about my leaving. Nobody questioned the patch of vomit on the earthy ground. I wouldn't have answered them anyway._

_I can't remember how long it was that we stayed outside, in the heat of the desert we were in, looking at nothing for miles all around us. Our only entertainment the horrendous noise coming from underground. I couldn't stop thinking about that child. I knew eventually the screaming would stop. And I had to be in there when it did. I couldn't risk the rest of them thinking I was anything but strong. I didn't want my uncle to know how that had made me _ _feel. Because I don't feel any longer. I'm empty. A shell. I'm not supposed to feel any more. I still felt sick. _

_I knew when it was coming and I entered the basement again. His voiced was cracked and weak and it was obvious what was happening. It was almost finished. I got back down there – Hebi in tow – just in time to see it. I took my place against the wall and watched again. I saw his eyes clear from that bubbly black chakra, the last of the trails slithering out of him and I saw his eyes as he died. I watched as a single tear escaped a blurred eye and I couldn't take my own off him.I could hear Akatsuki step down from the alters; their job complete. I heard as most of them sauntered off, glad to be finished. Madara approached the body, limp and broken, cutting the bonds before turning to me._

_"Clean up the mess." I knew what he meant and I wanted to hit him. I wanted to hit him more than I think I've ever wanted to hit somebody before. Even Itachi. Because I didn't want to hit Itachi, I wanted to kill him. There is a very clear difference. _

_So I did as I'd been told. Telling my followers to stay there, I carried the corpse away, back out into the desert and along a few miles to a cliff. I don't know if you'd call it a cliff really -it was a strange place. The sand stopped at a drop almost like a waterfall only not flowing. I dumped the boys body just before the ledge. Then I dropped to my knees beside him._

_I continued to stare. His blank eyes stared right back at me and I wished he would blink again. Scream and yell obscenities that ten year olds should not know. I don't know why I felt so sad. I couldn't explain it. I didn't even know this child. I ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. It was spiky, almost like Naruto's, but not near as messy._

_I wanted to cry. I felt like it would ease the feeling gathering in my chest. But tears would not come, I knew why. It was because I truly did not care for this boy. I cared for what he stood for. They had just murdered a child in cold blood. He was defenceless. He was a mere little boy, killed simply for being a jinchuuriki. Yeah. It hurt more thinking about the cause of his death than the fact that he was dead. I don't know why but I felt something I was almost sure was fear trickle down my spin and I shivered before pushing him over the edge._

_I didn't watch as he fell. I tightened my hands into firsts. I didn't care about the boy. He didn't remind me of Naruto and I was not afraid. I was not afraid. I was strong and I was just being silly. Why should I care that he was murdered because he was a demon container. My answer was simple and it came to me straight away._

_Naruto._

_It was the only answer I could come up with. See? I'm not in denial. I'm simply remembering feelings I used to experience when I still had a purpose, before I'd lost everything and they had built up and broken me down slightly. That was all. I was not in denial so I could admit that. I did not care about Naruto, I just felt things when I remembered him. That was all. And I'd prove it. I'd prove to everyone just how cold I was. I'd prove to myself.I'd give them Naruto._

_My eyes snapped open, the dream fading into the back of my mind, my memories. I had a lot of them. Every night they would come back to me. Every time I slept. Looking out the window I saw that dawn was approaching. I could hear Naruto snore in the bedroom and only then realise I'd been covered by an old blanket._

_Yeah…that could have been worse._

_ **…** _

**There you go! =P hope you liked!**

**Xx..xX**

 

 


	4. Boredom

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**…**

**Boredom**

It felt strange. Watching Naruto sleep. He was so different than when he was awake. So much…quieter. Not in the literal sense, since he was snoring rather loudly, but...there was something much softer about him when he slept. Something much less annoying. I can't remember how long I'd been sitting by the bed, leaning on the side of the soft mattress, trying to ignore the dust that was clinging to my clothes.

I'd needed to have a shower, but that would come later. Right now I needed to wake the idiot up. I had let him sleep far later than myself. But perhaps that was just to stop him from complaining and giving me a headache. Anyway…it certainly didn't take much to wake him up after all.

"Naruto!" And with a start, he was awake. He sprung up from the bed as though he were being attacked, and perhaps he thought that was the situation. "Get dressed. We've got papers to fill out." I didn't wait for a reply from him as he looked at me with large sleepy eyes. Hn, dobe.

I made my way back to the living area, seating myself back on the blanketed floor where I'd slept. There was less dust there and I avoided thinking of that stuff being on my clothes. I was glad we'd seen that washing machine in the Kitchen. I'd make it work. I took the papers from an inside pocket of my over-shirt, they were slightly crinkled at the edges but I smoothed them out on the floor regardless; one facing me and one facing opposite me, for when Naruto arrived.

If I could I would have filled them out myself, but I didn't think Naruto would appreciate it and he'd likely mess up my plans again. Besides, I had other things to do than take these back to school and be introduced to their intelligence system. I couldn't care less. I'd send Naruto whilst I shopped around town and cleaned the flat.

Eventually, after what felt like forever, Naruto emerged from the bedroom, his horrendous clothing looking – if possible – worse than before. I'd have to wash those as well; it looked like he'd spilled something on them from the night before - a large stain adorned the front of his black top. What a loser. At least he knew what was expected of him since he took a seat in front of me and picked up the papers.

"So what's the school like, Sasuke? Is it cool? – probably not, since it's school – did you see anybody who looked nice?"

I snorted, "everybody looked nice," I made sure to say the word with as much disgust as I felt. "Now, you said that you told them we were step brothers; we'll have the same last name then." I neatly wrote down my first name in the first box and pondered on our last name for a moment; I wanted it to be something that fitted nicely with both our names but also something that was not too daring; it would need to be 'normal'.

I wrote down 'Sato' and watched as Naruto did the same. Sato was a popular last name in the civilian world, I'd read that once, though I don't know why they bother with such insignificant matters. Nevertheless the next question asked our date of birth, I assumed Naruto would know his so I took no time to write my own down. The next few questions were also a cinch, asking our gender, the address of where we were living – I had to tell Naruto, since he'd not bothered to take note of this residence – the home telephone number; we didn't have one, special educational needs; I wanted to tell Naruto to put 'yes' but thought better of it; it would be childish to start a fight and I didn't even know where the urge had come from.

The problem emerged when it came to the details of parents with parental responsibility. I ignored the tug inside my chest. How were we supposed to answer that without looking suspicious? "Naruto." He seemed to snap out of a daze when I called his name, and only then did I realise how silent it was in the room. "Sasuke…" We stared at each other for a long moment, and I wondered where the feeling was; it usually showed up at times like these. But it was nowhere in sight and for that I was glad, since it made things all the more easy to dismiss the heavy atmosphere and continue what I was saying.

"You told them we were orphans." He nodded. "Did you mention anything about them?" He shook his head. "Then it's not applicable." And with that I filled in all the boxes with an 'N/A', watching as Naruto copied in his messy handwriting. The next asked for details of any siblings attending the school, or 'educational establishment' as they put it. We wrote each other down.

The last question was of multiple choice; three to be exact, and it asked which establishment we wished to be placed. I wasn't sure what that meant but I had a good idea that it was something to do with there being three buildings. I told Naruto he'd have to ask when he handed this to the headmaster and got the tour around the premises. Naturally, after me mentioning about him being the one to go, there was a group of questions thrown at me, each excitable and nerve grating. I didn't respond to any of them. Though I had to wonder if Naruto cared, since the voice continued to blabber on regardless of my silence.

Thankfully, it took me less time that I'd anticipated to throw Naruto out with the forms. His questions still unanswered. He'd find everything out when he got there. I smirked at the thought of the annoying headmaster being Naruto's guide - If it was the headmaster that would show him around – if he was going to be shown around at all. It's not like the guy had said he'd show me around, I just assumed he would since the three buildings had to be significant to the school.

I almost sighed as I turned to look around the house once more, this time searching in cupboards to see what we actually had – possession-wise. As it turned out, like I'd assumed, we had next to nothing. First of all I'd searched for black bags, which I found in the large storage room downstairs. Then I went to clear out. I had found a few old towels and blankets - one of which I had slept under, useless things really, with holes and stains all over them - in the living room. They'd been the first things to go in the bag. Next I'd rummaged through the empty kitchen only to find it was just that. Empty. To think I'd expected that to be the room with the most useless old rubbish.

Next had been the bedroom which, surprisingly, held the most useless old rubbish. The long wardrobe by the wall kept not only moth-eaten clothes, but also a number of personal belongings. I didn't know whose belongings they were so I didn't throw them away; instead I put them in a separate black bag with a neat little knot at the top, loose in case I found something else. It wouldn't do to get in trouble for throwing away other people's belongings, it's not like I cared. The clothes came with me as I trailed the bag through the apartment.

The next room was the bathroom, and I have to admit I didn't look forward to it. Again though, this place was surprising as not only did it hold little to no useless old rubbish, but it also had a few bottles of disinfectant sprays as well as a first aid kit. It had been clean and fresh so I'd put it aside for later, along with the selection of cleaning materials.

Once I was through with collecting the mess, I tossed everything into a large bin out the back of the building, I'd only realised that there was something round the back when I'd gone searching for the bag itself. Up until then I had thought the back of this place went straight out into the woods. Other than that I was done with the flat. It was time to do some shopping.

Not proper shopping. That was for later. This was only for supplies I'd need whilst cleaning the apartment. That small selection I'd found stashed in the bathroom simply would not do the job. And I was not going to live in a house so dirty…messy wasn't as bad but I couldn't stand dirt. I'm not sure how I ever could stand living under ground with Orochimaru. It was always filthy down there.

I didn't bother searching for the best shop around; I simply went into the first I saw that looked like it would sell cleaning supplies. It did. I was thankful I hadn't needed to go somewhere else. I didn't want Naruto to return before I was finished. He'd just get in the way. While I was there I picked up some paint as well…just in case I finished early. Not that I really cared…but it was boring in that place on my own. Not that I wanted the idiots company…I just wanted the place to look…nice. I bought toiletries too, because, of course, I would be even more unclean after I worked on the apartment.

I started with the Kitchen, working my way around the doors and leaving the living room till last; it was the biggest and I had to walk through it to get to the other rooms so it was logical to finish there. And so I set to work. Washing down the walls and floor before scrubbing everything, I wanted to make sure everything was spotless. I even polished the window and the wooden cupboards when I realised they were wooden. They'd been so caked in mould and dust that I'd failed to notice that before.

And I have to say, one thing I did expect was that the room would look brand new when I was through with it. And it did. Once up to perfection I moved onto the next room, and the next, and the next. I found myself wondering how Naruto was doing with that guy – Mr Okido. Surely he'd find the man as infuriating as I had, perhaps even more so. Because that headmaster could even be louder than Naruto, and jollier too. What a nightmare. We had to go to that guy's school.

It angered me what he'd said too. That everyone in this town was happy. What a load of…well it certainly couldn't be true that's for sure. It was impossible that so many people could all be living fulfilling lives, wanting for nothing because they were all happy. Because there must have been about one hundred people in this little village. They couldn't all be happy. People were never happy. I'd never met anyone genuinely happy. Perhaps that's what made this place so strange to me. And it certainly was strange. That boy who'd sat by the bar yesterday had been the most normal I'd seen yet, and even he had been soaked in this weirdness for so long it had sunk deep onto his pores. He'd stank of it.

Thinking back to yesterday brought the feeling back. It was so sudden and unexpected that I actually dropped the brush I was using at the time. I had an inkling as to why it had shown up. Damn Naruto and his touching. The blond had been seriously out of line yesterday. I don't know what he was thinking but I hope the thought never crosses his mind again. Or I might break his nose. Hn, that would be satisfying. It might even make me feel happy. The fact that I was being sarcastic seemed strange to me. It had been a long time since I'd seen 'funny'.

Naruto's laughing yesterday, now that I think back on it, had sounded so pure, so lively, so real. It had been a long time since I'd heard genuine laughter like that. Though thinking of his laugh made the feeling approach my stomach and I quickly changed my train of thought. Not very far though. Why did this keep happening to me? This thing – whatever it may be – was one of the most bizarre experiences I'd ever had. It was just so unpredictable. Sometimes it would come again and again repeatedly at the mere thought of blond hair or blue eyes. Then sometimes it was so scarce I forgot it even existed.

I'd like that. For it not to exist. These past few days had been so confusing to me, I was really getting fed up with it. I turned my thoughts back to more practical things. I sat on the couch, the one thing I hadn't managed to repair completely – the bed had been almost immaculate under all that mossy dust – and closed my eyes. I didn't feel tired, but I was stopping for only a moment before I'd consider starting on the painting. I'd thought of the floors but they were bearable for the moment. The wood was stained but in a nice way. I could live with it. We had little money as it was.

The walls though, were a different story. Certainly not bearable in the slightest. There had been what I presumed was wallpaper on before hand, so I'd peeled the remainder off and it now looked like something you'd find in an Orochimaru Hideout. I've seen enough of them to say they were disgusting. Like black dirt and grime running around the walls. I'd cleaned them all but they were stained. They'd need a few coats of paint.

So I set to work on my next task. The walls. All of them. I'd picked colours that Naruto would probably call predictable, but I didn't care. For the bedroom it was a deep red, the Kitchen white, the bathroom too, and the living room dark blue. It took no time at all to apply the first coat and then I was rendered bored while the paint dried. The expression 'to watch paint dry' acquired a whole new meaning. And as boredom does, it forced me into thinking again and to avoid the feeling I thought of my messenger raven.

He would have reached Konoha shortly after I'd sent him, certainly before we'd arrived here, yet there was no reply. They had not destroyed him – I would have felt that – so I supposed they would be considering their options. They had very little. Obviously the Hokage would be furious, but would she risk disbelief at the cost of Naruto's life? Probably not. I'd heard how fond she'd grown of him. I shouldn't have expected her to send any money, though, but unconsciously I had hoped. I didn't like the thought of working here. It needed a lot of cleaning downstairs. The Hokage and the rest of the Konohan idiots had probably dubbed me a liar and decided that Naruto was already deceased. Hn, they might even throw him a funeral.

I found the thought humorous, for some disturbing reason, but I just couldn't picture Naruto's funeral. Funerals were bleak, deathly, cold and dreary – they were upsetting and stiff and everything Naruto was not. I couldn't picture it at all in my mind. I tried but a flash of bright blond hair with deathly pale skin in an open coffin and the feeling made another appearance. Shit.

This one was by far the worst dose I'd had of this thing. It stung not only my chest, but also my eyes, my stomach churned and I wanted to scream. Stupid feeling. Why so much today? Why was it giving me so much hassle? I gritted my teeth against the pain. This one was so much worse. The others had never been like this. More emotional, perhaps, but never painful. Not like this one.

And it was in that pain that I curled myself up on the sofa, my arms wrapped securely round my middle and my eyes screwed tightly shut. I didn't sleep, but my mind certainly did. I expected that when I came round Naruto would have returned, but he hadn't. The flat was still empty and I was still alone. I liked things better that way. I didn't need other people. They were just entertainment. I painted the second coat.

By the time I had finished everything it was bound to be afternoon and I was really starting to wonder how the dobe was taking so long…just a simple tour could not take this amount of time. But whatever he was doing, it seemed I would have to entertain myself. Perhaps a shower would waste some time. I'd planned to wait until Naruto came back, because then I could wash our clothes together. But I'd rather have a shower now. I needed one.

So I left my clothing in a pile and quickly entered the shower. Probably spending longer in than was absolutely necessary. It was as I had just finished with the shower that I heard the tell-tale footsteps that signalled Naruto's return. He had sure taken his time hadn't he?

"Sasuke?" Maybe he had noticed what I'd done to the flat…

"That Mr Okido is awesome! He really was so nice, and he showed me around and everything, introduced me to the sensei's and all that–" Or maybe not…I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist - I had found some of those with the cleaning supplies under the sink – deciding to let myself drip dry, before stepping out of the steamy bathroom. I had noticed earlier, when cleaning, that the lock on the door was faulty, and knowing Naruto he might have walked in on me. I didn't want that; the idiot would make a scene.

His chatter about the oh-so-great Mr Okido halted when I entered the living room. I had enough time to warn the feeling to stay away before I turned my attention to the blond. To say he was staring might have actually been an understatement. If he had been a cartoon character I could imagine his eyes popping out of their sockets, his jaw hitting the floor and an alarm sounding in the background. The thought made me snort which seemed to pull Naruto back to reality almost as much as it did me.

"T-teme! Put some clothes on! God! What are you doing?" And I almost snorted again, but smirking seemed to make him even angrier since his face reddened and his eyes took on a new light. I'd never seen that look in his eyes.

"I was taking a shower, idiot. You should too. And my clothes are about to go in the washer, so deal with it." At that his face got even brighter and I congratulated myself on winding him up. Nothing was more amusing than an angry Naruto. But I should have seen that something was wrong when instead of screaming a reply, he merely stuttered something indulgent before rushing past me and straight into the bathroom. Hn, maybe he wasn't feeling well.

"Pass your clothes out when they're off and I'll put them in with mine." He didn't answer but a few moments late a pile was dumped outside the door.

Hn, who would have thought Naruto was self-conscious. I almost snorted; I was too gorgeous to be self-conscious. I knew I was good looking so why would I worry about people thinking I wasn't? I didn't care what people thought at all. But Naruto? I wouldn't have imagined someone with so much confidence would make such a big deal about showing his body to me; a boy; someone who had exactly the same as him. Because I did have exactly the same. We were both completely normal. Back when we were team-mates we had visited public baths often enough on missions to see exactly what the other had. I knew there was little difference. Yes, that was a few years ago, but puberty wouldn't make him abnormal. Right?

I should probably stop thinking about Naruto like that. I had only just realized how I had been thinking and it was probably not how I should be thinking of him. Why did I even look at him back then? I certainly had not been interested. My vision had simply wandered by accident.

After loading the washing machine – it gave me no trouble – I took my seat on the couch again, though this time I wasn't as bored. It was sort of weird, that. Because the circumstances were the same, I still had nothing to do. I listened to the sound of water running and felt relaxed. I decided not to question such details – they would only irritate me further.

Naruto didn't finish his shower for a long time. Naturally, in that time, my mind wandered. But this time I only thought of things with little importance. The heat in this place was phenomenal. Even the sand village did not have this heat. But it was a wet heat; definitely more tropical; the smell too, was tropical. I didn't like it. Not just because I despised sweating – I burned. Very easily. All Uchiha's did. It was genetic, I was sure.

Another thing which was genetic was my height. I remember, when I was a small child, I had looked up at my aniki and though Itachi was the tallest boy in the world. My father was a man; he didn't count. I soon learned that was not the case. Even my parents were short in comparison to other adult's out-with the Uchiha clan. We were just short people; we grew fast, yes, but it didn't last…I shouldn't speak like that…saying 'we'…sometimes my mind runs away from reality. I don't blame it.

What Naruto had said on our way here; about him over taking me. It was probably true. I'd more than likely reached the limit of my growth at this point. Not that it was a bad thing. Being short drastically helped my fighting technique. Not that it would matter as long as we were here.

That was something I had not considered. We would not be able to train because it was not worth getting caught for. We'd both loose a lot of what we had worked so hard to gain; our stealth, our chakra control, our techniques would worsen instead of growing. All in all; it would not be good. Great. Just another perk about this place. I hoped Naruto wouldn't realize anytime soon.

Once again, I wondered what was taking him so long. Showers surely did not take that long. And that idiot was usually too eager to take his time doing anything. What would he be like in school? I'd barely noticed him back in the ninja academy, and when I had it was only due to his idiocy. I never believed I'd be on a team with a nuisance like him. I hadn't thought he'd become a ninja at all.

But really, what was he doing in there? See if he had broken something…there would be hell to pay. I know I may have seemed impatient, but I wasn't. He really was taking a long time. And one stupid little feeling nagged at my head; 'would he rather waste time in there just to avoid me?' Hn, stupid feeling, I'd be glad if that was the case.

Unfortunately, I knew it wasn't. Of course it wasn't. That dobe obsessed over me more than any fan girl I had ever met. He annoyed me more as well. I ignored that insignificant voice that mentioned how I would not have done all this for any fan girl.

It turned out Naruto stayed in the bathroom until our clothes were, not only washed, but dried too. And by dried, I mean hung out the back on a small clothes line. Because I wouldn't even use a jutsu to dry clothes - it was too risky. Naruto finished when I mentioned the clothes being done. It made me angry. What was his problem? Come on…seeing another guy with nothing on but a towel couldn't be that revolting. And the damn dobe hadn't even said anything about the flat. Not about the cleaning or the paint. I felt so angry.

So I ignored him when he finished changing. I just sat – clothed now, so he had nothing to throw a tantrum over – on the couch, staring at the wall. Glaring. Idiot Dobe!

"Hey, Sasuke. That shower is better than I thought it'd be, heh…" he sounded nervous.

I said nothing.

"We don't have any food do we?" He said; no, of course we don't idiot! Because I spent the only money we had on something you haven't even noticed!

I said nothing.

"Heeey…Sasukeee!" I felt him take a seat beside me, leaning over so that he could look closer into my face. I didn't move.

I said nothing.

"Yoo-hoo! I'm talking here!" Naruto wailed into my ear, but I didn't budge. I'd show him, ungrateful idiot.

I would say nothing.

"Huh…" He turned, distracted, to stare at the wall I was looking towards, cocking his head to the side. "Did something happen to the window? I can see out of it now." Idiot dobe!

I attacked.

**…**

**Just to clear this up since I’ve been asked about it before. The bar they work in…it sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I'm pretty sure that they are allowed to go into bars like that in the Narutoverse since Naruto has been in bars before (with Jiraiya when they first met Tsunade and when they were looking for her) and Lee was even allowed to drink some sake (though that might have been an accident) either way, I think they are allowed in bars so…yeah.**

**Xx..xX**

 


	5. Lessons?

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**…**

**Lessons**

Naruto was sulking. Though I suppose I was as well. I can't believe he hit me back! The nerve! Well…it would have been strange for him not to, since it is Naruto, and he probably hadn't been expecting it. But still! I had good reason! He didn't! And now we would both look stupid on our first day of school Black eyes and split lips. We hadn't taken things too far. I didn't want to damage the flat so soon after I'd repaired it. Hn, idiot dobe.

So now we were receiving quite a few awkward glances from the villagers as we passed them on our way. It was the first day of school; well, for us at least. After the fight I'd managed to pry Naruto into telling me what he had found out from that nutty headmaster. According to Naruto the three buildings are three different levels of school. Or Education Establishment as people here liked to call it.

The first was for those younger than us and seemed to teach the same sorts of things as we'd seen vaguely in the Ninja academy. The basics. It was just common knowledge and, of course, it would be strange of us not to have at least some knowledge had we been from a simple civilian village like this. That one was not an option and thankfully Naruto had not chosen it. Said it seemed like too much work. I had chosen not to mention that it most likely had the least work.

The second specialised in certain topics, obviously stemming from the general knowledge we were supposed to already have. You could select a few different ones and would learn in depth about each of them. You could choose from three up to seven of them. To me it sounded kind of boring; learning about only three things. And each topic can't consist of that much.

The third building seemed worse in our situation than either of the other two. It was for training. You learned of only one thing and it was to lead you into a job position. Since we didn't plan on spending our entire lives here that was useless to us and thankfully Naruto had noticed that.

He'd chosen the second building. Not only that but he'd also taken it upon himself to choose our topics. Not even thinking that perhaps I'd like to choose my own. That had made us fight a little more, but I had seen reason and stopped things from going to far. It didn't mean I wasn't pissed off at him. In the three days that had passed since then almost all of his bruises had faded. I wish I could say the same for myself. Because I had beaten him, and now it looked like he had beaten me. Not that Naruto would admit to defeat but I had clearly won…I'd taken it upon myself to renovate downstairs as well. Now it looked a lot cleaner. I'd forced Naruto to help me, but it hadn't lasted long.

That Kippomaru guy – I suppose I should have been a little more respectful since he was my boss – Kippomaru-san had showed up and disrupted everything. He'd stolen Naruto completely. As soon as he entered Naruto's attention snapped to him and stayed there the entire time. But it turned out that those belongings I'd found in the bedroom were his wife's, I didn't bother to remember her name. I probably should have since she was also my boss. He had thanked us on the work we'd done. Or to be more specific he had thanked Naruto. The blond didn't even do half of the work, but I said nothing and neither did Naruto. I don't know if he even noticed, he was too busy being nice.

They had turned to discussing work times, but I hadn't listened. Now that we were settled down I knew that we'd start working as well. Kippomaru had kept the bar closed for a few days while we settled in but as soon as we started school we were to start work as well.

So now we were on our way to school. Being Naruto he'd chosen only three, obviously, which I was slightly annoyed at. Not that I really cared for these things, it was just slightly awkward for work. The school – educational establishment - was open from six in the morning to eight in the evening. The way things worked out was that you only went to the building for your chosen subjects and then left until you had the next one. Or you could stay in the building and wonder around. I supposed most people did that, but we had only three and they quite were spread out.

We had physical studies at seven until half past ten with a half hour break in between. Then we had domestic studies from eleven until one and then we had to wait until three for technological studies. I'm not even sure what some of these things are. Physical studies sounded simple enough, probably just exercises and other such things. Domestic studies? I wasn't quite sure but maybe something to do with cooking? Though I couldn't figure out why Naruto would choose a topic like that…technological studies…I had no idea what it could be. I would just have to wait and find out. I was pretty sure that I'd be changing from this anyway.

I had wondered how we would find our way to the classes, but it was harder than I'd imagined. This was the second largest of the buildings and when I say large I really mean it. For such a small village it seemed a lot of people came here. I later learned that a small distance from this village was an apartment complex which held purely students; those who came and went from this place only to learn. I would never have guessed. But supposedly they didn't really go into the village all that much. They had their own shops and diners.

It wouldn't be a problem to us though, they were also only civilians. The school was split up into two sections; the creative and the businesses. Ours were all in the creative. Even once in that section of the building though, it wasn't as a school should be. The room we entered into was the artistic studies section and was completely open plan, there were few students here though, only about five or six so I presumed there was no class on. In that room there were many doors stemming off of it; though some were not even doors, only sheets that covered a hole in the wall, the others were glass and plastic, all see through, doors so I could see they did not lead to rooms, only corridors.

Such a strange school. Then again, they didn't claim to be a school, but an educational establishment. I was sure most were not like this. Fortunately the doors – or whatever else – were labelled. Unfortunately they didn't lead to individual classes, but sections of classes. They were labelled things like 'creative – home' or 'creative – style' but nothing that we understood. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, one of the art students approached us.

She was a female and immediately told us her name. She was friendly, and Naruto was friendly back. I didn't pay her much attention and instead focused on learning my way around as she slowed us to our first class. I paid attention well and felt I could find my way back to this room. She had taken us down one of the corridors – I'd taken noticed of the names on the rooms – until we got to our room. When I say 'room' that is only what I first expected. Turned out physical studies had three rooms. Yes. This is a big building.

We weren't even introduced to the other students as we entered, the girl disappearing back where she came from, but they all welcomed us with smiles and encouraging words. Naruto seemed to really appreciate it. I didn't. The class was purely fitness. We were in the room with the exercise equipment. I tried to pretend that they tired me out. Naruto didn't. The almost completely male class surrounded him in astonishment at how 'strong' he was. He quickly grew in popularity, but even then he stuck with me instead of going off with them for the short break we had.

The classmates had pointed us in the direction of one of the many places around here where you could 'hang out' between classes or on breaks. They were all outside the building. In the centre of the three. They curved round to give a large expanse of park in the middle where there was always people - from all of the 'educational establishments'. There was also a number of café's and little shops littered around the area. But what I liked best were the trees. There were paths and seating areas but the rest was grass, trimmed to perfection, and trees and shrubbery. It was nice, very fitting for this tropical village. I lay in the centre of one of the larger bench-table things, one that was placed randomly on the grass while Naruto went to fetch us a snack.

Even the sky here looked different. Fluffier clouds and more colour. I heard raised voices and couldn't help but look in the direction. Behind a thinning of the trees in this area I could see that girl who had showed us to class arguing with someone. A boy. There was a third person but I took my time to study them; they seemed more normal than the people I'd come into contact with so far. They weren't smiling. Taking a longer look at the girl I could see she was quite tall; for a girl. Me and Naruto were about the same height; five foot eight - I liked to think I was about five foot nine, though it probably wasn't true. This girl, on estimate, might have been only slightly shorter…about five foot seven. She had very short hair, ginger and spiky; well above her neck. I don't know if I've see a girl with such short hair. I couldn't see very well through the threes but her eyes looked dark, her skin pale and freckly. She wore dark clothes, loose and baggy over her slim body. The expression on her face and the attitude in her voice told me she was cheeky, but the boy opposite her seemed to be having none of her apparent attitude.

He looked kind of alike to her. In their facial structure; perhaps they were family. He looked very angry and spoke harshly to her, but it did nothing to deter her feisty behaviour, it was sort of entertaining, even without knowing what they were discussing. The boy had floppy brown hair, but it was dark enough to pass off as black, with a freckly face and dark eyes like the girl. He was quite well built too, for a civilian, though those muscles were more for show than for fight, I could tell. He looked very short, but in truth must have been about the same size as the girl, but standing next to him was a boy who was very tall, and lanky. I didn't care to pay him any attention; he was doing nothing interesting. Just when their voices got more frantic Naruto appeared.

"Hey, Sasuke! They have some awesome food here! Check this," he held up a bowl of what could only be ramen, "for a moment I wondered if they wouldn't have it." He looked like the idea might cause him to cry, idiot. I felt something land on my chest and when I looked I realised it was a packet; on further inspection I realised it was a packet of baby tomatoes. Tomatoes are my favourite food but it had been so long since I'd actually had any. The way I'd been living you ate what you got, you didn't think about things like that. I had missed them.

When I looked back at Naruto he was looking over at the people who I'd been inspecting before. But it didn't matter about that, I felt weird. It wasn't _the feeling_ but it was close to it. Gratitude might have been what it was. I was thankful. But I said nothing. Instead I decided to be more accepting of his choosing my topics for me. I would change them anyway. Probably. I'd keep Physical, because it would help us keep in shape since we couldn't train. But I doubted I would enjoy the other two. Naruto had probably picked them thinking they meant less work.

"Hey, that's Mai*." He said, as if I would care. Turning my attention to more pressing matters…as I opened the bag of tomatoes my mouth watered and my lips twitched. But Naruto seemed to have other ideas now. He dragged me – again with the contact – up and around the trees until we were stood next to the girl and the boy. The ones who had paused arguing to see what we wanted. Naruto had no sense of privacy.

The girl smiled pleasantly, but the boy did nothing, just looking to the tall one behind him, as if we were exasperating. We probably were to him. At least he seemed slightly normal. But I didn't really care anyway, I started with my tomatoes.

"Oh, you're the boys I met earlier, aren't you." I saw her in the corner of my eye as she turned to grab the other boy's attention. He looked over to us. "These are the brothers I was telling you about. Guys," she turned to us, "this is my very own brother, Mika*! Oh, he's sweet enough once you get to know him, a grouchy asshole when you don't…even so…!" She laughed out loud like she'd told the best joke in the world but her brother, the 'Mika' boy, frowned and rolled his eyes before turning and walking away, a muttered 'I'm telling mother' his parting words.

I hated the way she'd called us brothers; me and Naruto. Like it was so simple. I had sort of hoped people wouldn't believe it, but obviously that was not the case. It was almost enough to make me wish I had argued with Naruto more about it. I could have told the Kippomaru boss guy that Naruto just wished we were – since that was the case. But instead I'd kept my mouth shut and I had no idea why such a thing was so hard for me to handle. I bit into my baby tomatoes with more force.

"Hmph!" For a moment the girl…Mai…looked really annoyed, but it was fleeting as she began talking again to us. I wondered how long we had before class as she questioned our next lesson. When Naruto explained that we were only on a break between classes she started explaining her own hours and I heard Naruto go over our classes too. And for some reason I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"I'm probably going to have my classes changed." At this the eyes snapped to me. I'd left them to their own conversation and the idea that they had forgotten I was here was irritating.

Naruto looked aghast, "B-but! Why? If you're just doing it to get out of my classes then you're really…! A teme!" It was really quite embarrassing, Naruto's lame replies. In honesty I would simply rather have a choice in my own topics; it had nothing to do with him. But, as always, he jumped on the chance to argue with me. For a change I decided to play back.

"Why…Naruto? I didn't realise you wanted me around so much." I smirked and Mai laughed - that loud boisterous laugh again that boasted how the most amusing thing had occurred.

The blond spluttered for a moment, caught himself, and glared. His glare was weak, of course, and I didn't feel like stooping to his level by returning one of my own. Instead I snorted and turned my head away. A heavy silence settled as Naruto copied my notions.

The girl cleared her throat obviously and I found it very rude of her. But not in a necessarily bad way. It was strange. "So what classes do you think you might take?" God, had I really started this conversation…now I would have to participate. It had been a while since I'd been in a civil conversation.

"I don't know. I'll see when I go to change them." Best to keep things short, but not too short. Not snappy. It wasn't as likely I would offend someone and the last thing I needed was to do that.

"Hmm…you should try to get breaks at the same time as us. On the regime you're on now you have break from one till three. That's two hours and we only have one and a half…me and the rest of my friends that is. My brother also happens to come with us but he's a dick and easy to ignore. But we're always off around those times as well…except Jose*, but he doesn't count." She laughed that haughty laugh of hers. I could tell she was only joking, the way she spoke said that much, even when she had insulted her brother it had been teasingly. The way siblings should be.

I averted my eyes…"yeah…"

"Hey, hey, Mai! If you're break is at the same time as ours then how come you're out now?" Naruto questioned and I kept my attention elsewhere. I'd rather not get dragged into yet another incompetent conversation. Besides, all the dobe's questions were idiotic. She obviously had more than three topics, therefore more breaks between each. Idiot dobe.

I looked around, trying to see somebody else whom I recognised. Not out of curiosity and certainly not because I cared. Simply because I wanted to. There was nothing better to do and risking dragging myself into Naruto and Mai's conversation was not something I wanted to do. I couldn't help noticing that none of the people from the basic schooling building were out at the moment. At least that was my presumption, assuming they were significantly younger than myself, that is.

I really don't know why Naruto insisted on being so nice to people. Especially when he's so genuine with it; the niceness. Honestly, it must be so tiring…people will only hurt you. Making friends is a useless notion which causes you more weakness in the long run. Seriously.

All friends were good for was holding you back or dying. When they are around you they distract you, even when fighting together they are only a nuisance. They take up time better spent training. And when you are a Ninja death is a constant part of life; if a friend dies there is pain; useless pain that does nothing but hold you back.

Having friends here was even more dysfunctional. Seriously…we wouldn't even be there that long. Well…perhaps we would be staying for a long while - however, it was not forever. That much was guaranteed. We'd leave eventually and friends would be simply an interference. Expecting contact to be kept from wherever we lied about going to. Knowing Naruto he'd probably try to as well; keep up the contact. Not that it would be my concern; I would not be with him on his return 'home' because I would not be returning to the same place as he.

"Hey Saaaasuke!" how was it that one voice could be so irritating? Hang on…were we walking? When had we started walking?

"What dobe?" I snapped, still trying to figure out why I had no recollection of beginning our travel. We were most definitely on our way back to our building. It must have been the end of our break. Mai was no where in sight.

"You were totally out of it and ignoring me! I didn't like it, are you feeling okay?" Of course he wouldn't like that; attention seeking idiot that he was. And there his niceness is showing up again. I know he can't possibly care about me…because…I don't think he's that much of an idiot. Even though he is obsessive it's purely selfish on his part; something about becoming Hokage I presume. So I just ignored him. That should get him annoyed. It did. I could tell from his enraged huffs and the way he ignored me right back, not that I was complaining – the silence was a blessing - while it lasted.

Our second half of physical was a lot more pathetic than our first. We were in a hall this time, one that stank of old sweat. It was disgusting. But what we had to do was even worse. They wanted us to play something called aeroball. It was some kind of ball game, and supposedly we were to take part in a tournament at the end of this year. I didn't really care about the game, but anything that would help keep me in shape I was willing to partake in.

Naruto was very enthusiastic about it, along with most of the others in our class; the idiot seemed to mix well with these people. The second lesson seemed to pass much slower than the first; I had a feeling that it was due to the increase in talking. Honestly, the class was called 'physical' so should we not have been more active? But no. Apparently explaining the rules of this stupid game were far more important than our fitness.

And it turned out domestic studies was to do with chemicals. But not so much in a scientific fashion; only things surrounding the home environment and bacterial chemistry were covered. It was quite practical as well, in the lesson we were shown film strips and pictures of horrendously dirty worktops and were asked to guess – with only knowledge read from our text books – which patches of grim contained which chemicals. I was bored. Naruto slept. And I certainly wouldn't be choosing this class as one of my topics.

Our second break was invariably just like the first had been. Only longer. We had to wait about fifteen minutes before Mai arrived, a larger group in tow. Well…I say large but really there were only about five or maybe six of them. I don't know. I wasn't looking. I didn't care. I stayed silent for the entire time anyway. I lay out atop one of the bench-tables and dozed off a little. I had nothing to eat, but I wasn't hungry. Those baby tomatoes had satisfied me for the mean time.

I barely heard the nonessential gossip around me but I let myself relax in the warm air. It really was quite comfortable. I had notice Naruto ask about the weather. This time of year was one of their cooler periods. I dreaded to think the damage my skin would go through when the heat reached its peak. Maybe they would have some sort of cream I could use…civilians bothered with things like that. And since I was living as a civilian…

The rest of school went by with little interruption, every now and again Naruto would drag me off to see someone, though with time I stopped registering them all together. Sometimes it felt as though I was the only one here. Just myself and Naruto. Like the corridors were empty and the park deserted. It didn't feel lonely; it felt the complete opposite, only after I came back to reality that was filled with so many others, Naruto's attention straying to all these other people. I felt strangely neglected.

Another topic I would be dropping was technological studies. Or 'techy' as I'd heard everyone else refer to it as. No matter…it was useless. Naruto seemed to enjoy it though and I was surprised to see just how skilled he happened to be. Not that I would ever admit that. And I was better, of course. Not that he would ever admit that. Basically we had to make things. Our equipment was mostly metal contraptions like screwdrivers and such, only more…inventive. And using these tools we had to build things like sheds or shelves, either out of wood, plastic or metal. Today we had only built a box, to introduce us to the topic.

I hated it! It was worse than domestic. I'm not sure what exactly was so off-putting but I just knew I couldn't stand another day with those greasy things! Never mind though, I had arranged after physical, this morning, to see the headmaster tomorrow and sort out my own subjects. For now it was time to work.

For a moment as we reached our bar - which, I might add, I was still disgusted at, no matter how clean it happened to be - Naruto seemed ecstatic, rushing up the stairs and planting the two folders we'd been given from domestic studies onto the couch. I followed him, just to see the look of horror on his face when he realized that now we had to return downstairs. To work. At a bar, no less. I only had a vague idea of how to run a bar but I was guessing Naruto had even less clue than I.

I couldn't help eyeing the two purple folders we'd received today with a slight frown. I had never asked Naruto to carry mine for me; he'd done it right away. I'm not sure why…

"Aww, damn!" Naruto exclaimed just as he threw himself down next to the folders. "We've got work" I couldn't help the twitch of my lips as he slumped down on the couch, his words slurred in a groan that seemed to stretch forever. Until he hit the floor.

"Ouch!" I snorted before starting back down the stairs; I'd seen all I needed to. Kippomaru had told us that we could just open the bar whenever we were here, and when we weren't they would likely drop by for a few hours. They paid us by clock times; we had to clock every minute the bar was open. Not that I really cared when the stupid bar opened and closed – I just wanted the money. I threw a glance backwards as I reached the actual bar. I took pride in the shiny tabletops and sparkling bar top that I had cleaned, no matter that it was Naruto who got most thanks.

Naruto took a few minutes to get down before we opened the doors. I wasn't sure how many people this place usually had to serve but I was not expecting what we got. It seemed Naruto had made himself more popular than I'd noticed. People were swarming the place to see where he worked. I, of course, was the one to serve them since Naruto was too busy being a good host. It was even more irritating than when he took so long in the shower that first day. He didn't take any orders…out of all the people who came in it was entirely me who was left to serve people.

Damn him.

And then every now and again he would yell over to me 'Hay, Sasuke! Guess what so-and-so did!' then he would tell the whole bar the story, completely ignorant to the fact that I wanted to kill him. I have to admit though, there were a few times when the conversation turned intriguing. At one point they even spoke of ninja's, to which both Naruto and I stayed relatively silent.

I couldn't recall the name of the certain boy from our technological class who began the discussion. But I do remember what he'd said. "Naruto! I heard you're one hell of a player in physical! What are you, like, a ninja?" He had been joking, and I was thankful Naruto had picked up on that, but it only took a moment of laughter before the entire room sobered up.

"Don't say that," a girl I'd never noticed said from the other side of the room, "Ninja's are terrible people." When everyone nodded in agreement I felt myself stare at Naruto, hoping that he would not blow our cover. He had never been good with his emotions. He didn't say anything that I expected though, thankfully, he only asked why. To be honest I don't know why he bothered. Even I knew that the life ninja lead is, in that girl's words, terrible.

"Well…just look at all those things they do!" she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and, in a morbid way, it was. Naruto looked a mix between offended and confused, perhaps he'd never realized that Ninja killed for pay. Or maybe…he just didn't see the problem. Now it was I who was frowning in curiosity, surely Naruto wasn't the type of person to trivialise death.

"Yeah, she's right, dog," another boy piped in from the table Naruto was at and I had to wonder…dog? "They make children kill."

"And wage wars over money." I heard someone else say.

"They vandalise their bodies just for power to murder!" I almost flinched at that, but knew better of it, instead I simple put up my mask, and continued serving. Naruto looked petrified; he'd obviously never been faced with reality. This would be like a slap in the face for him.

It seemed the whole bar had decided to join the conversation, spouting their little facts and statistics from every corner of the room. I didn't care who was saying it, but it stung in such a strange way to hear some of these things. "They pay each other to kill innocent people, not caring who they are or what they've done to deserve it."

"Yeah, you're right. They get paid by bad guys to kill good guys and they still try to act like they protect people!"

"And, not to mention, the amount of other Ninja they kill!"

"Even their families! They kill anything to get more power and money! I just don't get it!"

"They manipulate each other and lie to each other and kill each other and destroy people's homes and, and, and! They are just pigs!"

I have to say, I felt kind of bad myself, so I didn't want to think of how much that had hurt Naruto. I can still remember the harsh _feeling_ that had left me in peace for quite a while. I had no desire for it to return. I didn't look at his face when he started up a new conversation, even tried to block out his voice. They might not have heard it but I could certainly pick up on the quiver in his voice, the thickness of it and how it said so blatantly what he was feeling. Pain. I knew a fair few things about that.

Not that I could even remember too clearly…only in my dreams…only in my nightmares. I closed the bar shortly after, we had been working for five hours already and it was getting later, we would need food and such yet. I didn't dare talk to Naruto, who'd been much more silent than usual whilst cleaning up the tables – the only real work he had done all night. I wanted to make him do the dishes, but thought better of it and did them myself.

It wasn't like I wanted him to have time alone. I'm not considerate like that. I just didn't want him to be any more of a hassle than he already was. If I forced him to do dishes in this state then he'd mope around for an even longer period of time. Anyway, he was on the couch tonight since he got the bed yesterday. We had actually managed to arrange suitable living arrangements to fit around each other. Showers were the worst, not only did he often spend much longer in the shower than I deemed necessary, he also took an extra ten minutes to shave.

Now, you would think that, being a man myself, I could work with that. But it simply made me angry because, and though it shamed my pride greatly, I could not yet grow a beard. I doubted if I ever would. It was another Uchiha trait; we were moustache people. There I go again, using the word 'we'. I clearly meant 'me' since I'm alone now.

Back to the living arrangements; he took way too long in the bathroom in the mornings, never mind the fact that I usually woke up hours before him, I still liked to lay in peace until he got up – rest was rest and although sleep might not have been one of my favourite pastimes I still enjoyed rest when I got it. Naruto liked to disturb my rest quite often though. He would sometimes be up in the middle of the night, rushing to the toilet, getting food, taking a shower. Yes, a shower. In the middle of the night. Staying in the bedroom meant I heard a lot less of his behaviour, not that I got any more or less sleep, but I did get more rest. Which is always a good thing.

We didn't have much food in the apartment yet, so eating was limited, that night we had half a sandwich each, Naruto insisted I took the larger half, though I didn't see much difference in size. I think he was just trying to fill the silence, even his voice sounded strained though. The conversation from earlier had not left his mind. I hadn't expected it to, but it might have been nice.

"Hey, Sasuke?" He said to me later, white foam spraying over the sink. We were preparing for bed. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth while he did the same. We hadn't bought the necessary equipment to live here but Kippomaru's wife had been generous enough to buy us the basics. I certainly hadn't asked but she had assured us that it was coming out of our wage. Such a nice woman. I should have probably tried harder to remember her name next time we met. Sadly I'm a bastard and don't much care.

I spit and rinsed my mouth; I wasn't gross like him. "What?" I had been dreading this conversation, because I knew I'd have to crush him even more. I know how that makes me sound, but I don't actually care…it would just be so inconvenient for him to be distracted by the horrors of real life.

"Wh-what those guys said in the bar…you know…about Ninja…" his muttering gradually got lower and lower and I was glad I had good hearing. "It…it wasn't really true? Right? 'Cause they just don't know any better, right?" I could feel his eyes on me, trailing me as I left the bathroom on my way to bed. I didn't want to answer him, but I had no valid reason not to.

"Naruto. I know you're a naïve dobe, but…those things were almost an understatement to how bad Ninja life is. None of our life was good was it? We only lived it because we didn't know any better. We're just as bad as the Ninja who kill the ones we protect. It's a twisted politics and it's time you realised that."

He stared at me. I couldn't tell if it was what I'd said that bothered him or how much I'd actually spoke. It was very seldom that I had a meaningful thing to say. Unfortunately I now had nothing more to say, so I shut the bedroom door behind me and went to bed, regardless of what Naruto would do or feel.

**…**

**Hope you guys liked this chapter too. More soon.**

**Mai* pronounced 'May'.**

**Mika* pronounced 'Mee-kah'.**

**Jose* pronounce 'joe-zay'.**

**Xx..xX**


	6. Recollections

 

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**…**

**Recollections**

_"Aniki!" I wailed, running through the halls in my bare feet. "Aniki! Ouchy!" I ran on, recognising the pain in my legs from the exertion of running the length of our home but truly not caring. Only caring of the pinch of blood at the tip of my finger. A splinter! It was so sore!  
_

_I knew Itachi-nii-san would be at the Dojo. He was always at the Dojo. I couldn't wait until I got to play games with Chichiue* in there like Aniki did! He was always playing in there…but he never had as much time to play with me like I wanted him to. It wasn't fair! I wanted to play games with Aniki and Chichiue too!_

_"Aniki! Aniki! Sore!" I wanted to look as positively miserable as possible, so instead of fighting the tears like a strong boy would do, I encouraged them. The more helpless I looked then the longer he would spend time with me. Itachi-nii-san was so brave! He would not mind seeing my blood at all! He was so strong! He didn't even feel pain any more! That is…I saw him bleed a lot from the games he and Chichiue played…but he never cried like me. I'd never seen him cry. Brave Aniki! I wanted to be so brave too!  
_

_When I reached the door to the Dojo I slapped the palms of my hands against it, wincing at the sharpness of the hurt to my hands. But my finger was bleeding! And I was far too little to open the door myself. I knew Aniki would be in there! He had to be! But after a few more moments of hitting the doors with my tiny fists I reserved myself to flopping onto the floor and screaming at the top of my lungs._

_I wanted aniki! I wanted big brother to make the soreness go away! I didn't want Haha* she was too big sometimes! She was so nice to cuddle me all the time but I wanted Aniki to teach me to be strong. Not even Chichiue could do that. When they were so much bigger than me it only made me feel small and as though I didn't have to be strong. But Aniki wasn't big like them. He was more small like me. He was taller than me…in every way possible. But I couldn't fit on his lap. I had tried…but I couldn't._

_Just then, out of nowhere, footsteps interrupted my wails and sobbing and crying. I almost thought it was Chichiue, for the sound seemed louder to me, who was lying on the floor. But it wasn't my daddy at all. It was Itachi-nii-san! He was running, but I don't think he could run all that much quicker than myself, but he was trying so hard to get to me fast._

_He landed with a thud beside be and fussed over my tears for a little moment before he caught sight of the blood which had spread over my little hands. He turned his attentions fully to the splinter and within no time at all was able to take the miniscule chipping of wood from my finger and throw it far away. Where it should stay forever! He spent a good time longer taking me back to my bedroom and sitting me in my cot, before going to get wet cloths to wash my hands of the redness. The little splinter had gone so deep! I had bled over two fingers!_

_But he never left me long and when he came back he leapt straight into the cot beside me, took my hand in his and dealt with wiping the blood from my skin. My hands looked small in his. Not like they did in Haha's though. When she held my hand it was as if mine disappeared. She was so big. I wonder what it is like sometimes. To be tall enough to get to open doors. Or to be able to sit in seats without being lifted. Aniki can do it. He's big like that now. But not too big. And he plays with me whenever he can!"Aniki. I wan' be big like you." He looked at me for a moment, his eyes scanning quickly over my face to see that I wasn't still crying. _

_"I'm not that big yet, otouto. Besides, one day you'll get older and be like me." He told me clearly. He never spoke to me like I was littler than him. He told me things like I would understand. I didn't, but it was nice to hear anyway. _

_"Why are you so old Aniki?" At that he looked slightly dazzled, a little…perhaps not at all, but he frowned and seemed upset. _

_"It isn't that I'm so old, Sasuke. I was just never allowed to be young." I looked at him oddly, never young? It would make sense I suppose – since Aniki is so stro- _

My slumber was broken suddenly. I'd heard a bang and my instincts had me propelled out of the bed at the swiftest instant. But when reality came back to me I realized it must be nothing; it was safe here; it had been safe here for what felt like a lifetime, and yet it could not be long enough. We'd been in Riera for almost three months after all. You would think by now my Ninja instincts would have sobered slightly…apparently not.

I took one look at the world outside before slipping back into the warmth of the bed. It was black outside, as it became here after sunset. They had no street lamps, only portable torches that were situated all over the place. It didn't get dark very much now though, since it was spring. I dreaded the oncoming summer. If spring was this hot and bright then I couldn't even think of summer. I'd been informed that there was little over an hour of darkness during summer, and even then it was not complete darkness.

I was in the bed tonight though, so that – I suppose – was a bonus. I hadn't expected me and Naruto to fit so well into this life. Our days went by routinely, and yet every day managed to surprise me. I could not, for the life of me, realise why. But the bed was mine for tonight, though only by force, and I usually slept well on these nights. Only as well as I can, I suppose. My nightmares are certainly less severe. And though tonight's was as tame as usual for being in the bed, I still could not say that it was comforting. In a way I would have preferred a more horrific dream, for I hate seeing Itachi – especially when he is the kind older brother I used to know. At least I always know I'm still human after those nightmares, though. I can't pretend I don't have a heart when it breaks so much each time I wake up.

But I was sure I heard a noise. So sure, but I couldn't think. Perhaps it had merely been a branch, wandering in the night winds and brushing our window in the breeze. Most probably. I'd go with that, for the moment anyway, because I wanted to fall asleep again.

My wishes are never granted, however, and the bang was back mere moments later. Thankfully I had the decency to check what it was before I destroyed it. For my Raven had returned and with a scroll in his grasp. I let him in the window – which he had been knocking against moments before with his black beak – before releasing what was sure to be a letter from his possession. For a while I simply watched it, pondering on what Konoha might have replied. If it were money it had come slightly late, for both me and Naruto had earned enough money to live comfortably.

Kippomaru had been gracious enough as to let us live here for free and was still charging us nothing for the apartment, while also paying us a fair wage. However, with the knowledge that once you bought a house here you paid nothing on it, it would have been greedy to ask any more from us. Though I knew other people did. Since my change in courses at the educational establishment I generally worked less than Naruto did. However; it was Naruto's money that we used to buy food and luxuries, since mine we were using to save – for what we weren't sure but it seemed smart, in my opinion, to do so – and since I did the house work around here it seemed fair. Of course, it also meant I had less say in what rubbish Naruto wished to buy, which wasn't always the best thing.

The only decision I had made was to buy a new couch. Naruto hadn't argued but had wanted to keep the other one also, so that we had more room for when our 'friends' visited. They did, and quite often, so I had not argued with him on that point. Yes, our friends…they weren't necessarily mine, though they seemed to think so. I didn't _not_ talk to them…I just kept my mouth closed and spoke when spoken to. They seemed to respect my silence which I thought graceful of them. For that I wouldn't say they were likeable, but certainly tolerable.

I do remember one day when me and Naruto had been loudly introduced to the rest of Mai's friends. It had gone down shockingly well. Naruto had seemed even more surprised than I was when everybody seemed to adore him. Not that the dobe had complained – quite the opposite. There had been issues though…with a certain relationship within the group that troubled Naruto as much as it did me. And I'm not troubled easily…not now.

We had been sitting on the same bench as the first day – which we now sat at each time we met – when Mai had come running, a group of three behind her. I immediately recognised the two boys as her brother and the lanky one he had been with. There was a girl too, her name was Tessa*, with Purple hair and violet eyes. She was short, a lot shorted than even Mai - who was by no recognition a tall girl – and wore highly revealing clothing as well as a permanent grin.

I took time to look more closely at the second boy also; who I'd paid no attention to days before. This one was tall, taller than everyone here; myself and Naruto included, yet his appearance told that he was in no way threatening, in fact he looked shy. His hair was what really caught my attention though, for it was longer than even Neji's and was a spectacular colour; a hue of grey and fawn. His skin was also a very pale colour, not as pale as my own but certainly paler than I'd seen in many people. He was a little more interesting than I had first mistaken him. He was introduced as Lusca*.

What was even more interesting was the friendship he had with Mika – the brother – for they seemed insistently close. Unnecessarily so. It was disturbing to say the least. And when we sat at the bench, even me who preferred to lay on it, I couldn't help but notice that they sat next to each other, touching hands in the most intimate way. Mika would take Lusca's hand in his and play with the fingers, stroking up his arm with the strangest movements. I wouldn't open my mouth though; it was none of my business. I didn't need to know. It was probably nothing...

Yet one of the weirdest things was that Lusca barely seemed to notice, and both of them spoke completely normally, though their fiddling fingers were in clear view. It certainly was a strange dilemma. I didn't know what to think, so I tried to pay less attention to their linked hands and more on the topics of conversation.

I didn't open my mouth; however the same didn't go for a certain blond. I have to admit though, no matter my unwillingness to pry into others business, just when Mai and Mika were to leave to buy food, something substantially...evidential…happened. Mika had turned to Lusca and said he would buy him something, and had kissed him – on the lips – after the blushing boy had asked for toffee. What was worse was that nobody else seemed to notice! The siblings wondered off without another word and I almost thought I was alone in my thoughts until Naruto spoke up.

"What the hell was that?" I remember him asking. When he only received confused glances from the two left at the table, I seriously considered speaking for myself. But, as it turned out, I didn't need to. Once Naruto starts something he finishes it.

"He just kissed you!" was the next exclamation. But again all he got in response was funny looks. So he seemed to let the lack of response sober him down. "I…don't understand…"

"He's my boyfriend, why wouldn't he kiss me?" Lusca said quietly, obviously not knowing where the blond was coming from.

"Yeah, but. How can he be your boyfriend? You're a boy too." That's the part I was struggling with myself, though I had it pretty much figured out in my head, all I needed was conformation and the gasp I heard gave me that. It came from Tessa along with "oh, please tell me you're not from one of those villages! The ones where it, like, isn't allowed." Well, as a matter of fact we were. I subtly – I hope – kicked Naruto under the table, clearly telling him to shut it.

"W-well…no. No, but I just hadn't seen it before. That's all." He said and gave an overly rambunctious laugh, which Mai joined as she returned with Mika. Conversation over.

So that had been that, and since that day we had tended to gather together whenever we had free time from lessons, though I was sometimes on my own since I had so many more lessons, but Lusca had taken quite a number too and Mai as well, but it was harder to get times together. It turned out Mika and I had similar personalities, and he was the one with whom I spoke to most. But both Naruto and I kept our lips firmly sealed when it came to gay relationships. It certainly had not been allowed back in Konoha. Certainly not. Ninja were all about bloodlines and purity and so heirs were a necessity. Anyone who was gay had to be straight. That's just all there was about it. It isn't as though they were punished for being that way, only if they acted upon their desires. Everyone knew better than that.

I forced my concentration out of my mind and back on the scroll at hand. Unrolling it, I soon realised that it was, in fact, a letter. I almost snorted when I saw how messy the handwriting became as Tsunade continued throughout. By the bottom there were ink splodges everywhere and even a few holes in the page. I couldn't imagine how many of my Raven's pages she had used before calming herself enough to write this one.

__

_Sasuke,_

  
_

I must admit, I did not believe you when first I read your letter. It seemed impossible that one such as you would actually save a comrades life. Especially one whom you had dragged to his death in the first place.

_   
_

Your audacity astounds me however, as not one week ago Akatsuki gave us a friendly little visit. They threatened our people; they burned our houses; they wreaked havoc and all because you had stolen their 'precious fox'.

_   
_

Don't mistake me Uchiha; I would much rather have that than Naruto's death.

_   
_

But how dare you! Why lure him away in the first place if only to save him? Where is the logic? Where is the sense? I thought you were intelligent - a prodigy! You're nothing but a fool!

_   
_

But since I know you have Naruto I will not ask where you are, for his safety solely. But if I find out, and I will find out, that you have hurt him, I swear on all the lives in Konoha I will hunt you down and rip you to peaces.

_   
_

I will contact again only when it is needed. I will let you know Akatsuki's movements whenever I can.

_   
_

Godaime Hokage, Tsunade.

_

What…what a bitch! I saved his life! How could she say that I'm a fool? Bitch! Another reason to add to the list of why I'd never return. Hn, and people used to call her a princess? Stealing myself another glance outside I made my way out of bed and through to the bathroom, dispersing my Raven and the note with him, a frown marring my features. It was always slightly cooler through there and I had hoped it would calm me down from both the dream and the note. Instead it only helped my thoughts to build up. And as I peered through the door to Naruto's sleeping form I recalled the main topic of conversation for the day.

My whole day had been filled with talk of 'cherries' though I know the reference was not of fruit. It angered me how I had not realized sooner; in fact, it had taken me all day to figure it out…

"Och, you see that girl. She is such a whore! Honestly, she'll open her legs for any male in sight." Mai critiqued while looking shamelessly upon a young girl with glasses and a short skirt.

"There's nothing wrong with, like, flirting a little once in a while." Replied a flushed Tessa, who I have noticed cares not about who she flirts with. I had noticed her batting her eye lashes in Naruto's direction many times.

Mai frowned a little, looking pensive. "No…but there is something wrong with popping your cherry when you're eleven years old." She laughed, tears forming in her eyes. "And Tessa, for all your flirtatiousness you ain't lost yours yet!"

I remember trying to remain calm, trying to sit still without making it seem forced, but they'd never spoken of anything unfamiliar yet and looking over at Naruto I realised, judging by the mirth in his eyes, he probably knew what they were talking about as well. That was when I really began to feel cut out.

"Speaking of which! Who here has, like, still got it?" Tessa boasted, as though it were bad if you didn't have the 'cherry'.

Mai's laugh vibrated through us all yet again, and I was glad I'd begun to grow used to it. "Well, you know I've not got it anymore," she pouted prettily, seeming very innocent, which made most of us laugh, though Mika and I remained unresponsive, as usual, I no longer offended anyone by it.

Eyes turned to Lusca, in Mika's arms, who blushed deeply and turned his face away, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. "Hey, hey!" Mai interjected, before anyone else could speak up, "We already know the story with them! I know I remember that time we camped on the beach all too well-"

"M-mai! We didn't do anything that time." An overly embarrassed Lusca defended, though I noticed the smirk on Mika's face and knew he must be lying. I really wanted to know what it was they were talking about though…

"Hey, we should do that again with Naru-!" Tessa exclaimed, but quickly cut herself off. "Naruto! What about you? Have you, like, you know…done it?" Done what? I knew they were going to ask me in a minute and I wanted to just lie and say yes or no but then I've never really been a fan of lies.

"Err…well," I noticed Naruto rubbing at the back of his neck. Maybe he didn't know what they were talking about either…cherries? I was sure it wasn't. "Yeah, I have." A chorus of 'oooh's swarmed through the group and I wanted to know so much! But all eyes turned to me and I could feel the heat in my cheeks though I knew it would be invisible.

"Well Sasuke, am I the only one here who's not popped my cherry or what?" Maybe I should just say I had…then I'd be with the majority. But I wasn't so fortunate.

"Sasuke," the voice was Naruto's but I refused to make eye contact. This was so stupid! "Do you even know what…what we're on about?" I took a slow glance round the group, hoping they wouldn't pick up on the idiot's question as fact. The sly smile on Mai's face and the exclamation of 'oh my god, you actua-" and I was out of there. I didn't meet the group for the rest of the day and didn't go to work at night either. I wasn't sulking. I was just…feeling annoyed that I didn't know something that seemed to be common knowledge. I couldn't even guess!

"So what crawled up your ass, teme?" was the relatively calm question from the dobe as he seated himself on the couch with a sandwich earlier tonight. I'd eaten before that; having had the time from what would normally have been spent working. I'd ignored him though and he didn't speak again until after finishing the sandwich. I think it was ham and cheese; he ate less Ramen here, I noticed.

"Oh come on!" he exploded, as I knew he would. "It means sex! Have you had sex? The cherry is virginity, gee! No need to go in such a mood." I frowned. God that was so obvious. Wait…sex? Naruto had had sex? When? With who?

"You've had sex?" I faced him head on as he stammered in obvious discomfort.

"Wh-what do you care? Yes I have. Just like you I bet! You're not the only one who grew up while away!" I think he felt the temperature drop, but I couldn't care less. Did I have a sign on my head saying 'slut' or 'whore'? No? Then why did he automatically assume I'd had sex? I barely knew what sex was! Not that I cared! Who cared about stupid hormones! I can still remember the anger that had sizzled through me then.

Naruto was supposed to have the bed tonight, but I'd kicked him out whenever he tried to sneak in. Eventually he gave up; so much for his determination. Idiot Dobe! But…it agitated me to think that he's so experienced, that he had actually…had sex. I'm not sure what I thought before about sex and Naruto but I was now a little perturbed by the information. I suppose that I had always presumed he spent all his time training to bring me back. I never considered the possibility of him having…relationships…with other people.

The thought didn't please me, not in the slightest. I hadn't taken an interest in sex at all yet. None of the women I'd come into contact with had ever peaked that particular point for me. In all honesty sex was something I knew very little – almost nothing – about. Except that it made babies. And that if you were unlucky then you could catch diseases. But when it came to actually doing that sort of stuff I had…no idea.

I knew how to masturbate, but I'd never done it. I supposed I would just fiddle around and rub myself until I…I don't know really…felt good? People must masturbate for a reason…I just wasn't very sure what that reason was, so I had never done it. I wondered what the appeal was. I wondered if I tried it would I realize. I certainly didn't like not knowing. Not liking was better than not knowing.

So maybe I should try it? That was what crossed my mind. What harm would it do? But as I disposed of my boxers and took hold of myself I found I was in a rather embarrassing predicament. When I touched myself it felt…ordinary. There was nothing different about it. Was that masturbation? I rubbed my limp member slowly first, then picking up pace, then moving my hand in different ways, adding pressure, grasping and un-grasping. But all in all I was fairly…bored by it.

I had no idea why people would ever want to do something as stupid and insignificant as that. It was just embarrassing and I felt like an imbecile for even trying. If that was what sex felt like then I would probably never engage in it. At all. No matter what experience the dobe had.

And so I returned to bed.

**…**

**Chichiue means father (when speaking of your own father) for those who didn't know…and for those who are interested otousan is if you're addressing your father or speaking of someone else's. Haha is the same – for mother - and okaasan to speak of someone else's or directly to your own…Yay I did my research. I feel quite proud…even if you guys already knew that before.**

**Okay, another update! More soon.**

**Tessa* pronounced "teh-sah".**

**Lusca* pronounced "loo-s-kah".**

**Xx..xX**


	7. Hill

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**…**

**Hill**

_I could hear singing. I recognised the voice, though perhaps not immediately. In fact I almost doubted my instincts, for why should I dream of Sakura? But as I turned where I stood on the white earth and swivelled through the white mist in search of a visual to match the sound, there she was. Sakura stood on a stage, one with flowers and cherry blossoms to surround her, singing into a microphone. Yet there was no audience. No, surely there was nobody here but myself. The sight puzzled me…where was I? _

_…Don't try to explain your mind,  
I know what's happening here…_

_"Outoto." I turned, looking again for a body to match the assumption. Sakura's song continued while a turned again and again. Though through the heavy mist Sakura's saddened appearance had vanished. I struggled to pull even my own weight through the thickness of it. _

_…One minute it's love and,  
Suddenly,  
It's like a battlefield…_

_"Outoto," I turned. Where was he? I could see nothing anymore. Even the sand beneath my feet was too far for the mist to allow._

_…One word,  
Turns into a war.  
Why is it the smallest things,  
That tear us down…_

_"Where…?" I asked, wanting to see him more than anything. Even Sakura's bleak visage would have helped me understand this dream. It was like no other. The feeling surrounded me. "Where are you…Itachi?" My body broke into a run and in the next instant I was in a room; a room not unfamiliar to me. And yet it was not the same. It had been too long for me to remember the last time I'd seen my brother's bedroom look like this._

_…My world's nothing when you're gone,  
I'm out here without a shield…_

_He was standing by the bed, crouching to look underneath. He was younger than me, I realised. The thought sickened me. He must have been only eleven or twelve here. I saw him pull something out from under the bed. It was large and struggling and I knew immediately what it was. I felt even worse when the noise began. The laughter grew and grew until both were in a fit of giggles. Lying on Itachi's bedroom floor tickling one another. _

_…Can't go back,  
Now…_

_"There," he panted, "I found you." his voice carried such feeling that I had remembered so vividly in other dreams. I stared at myself with apathy though. I had been a foolish child. Playing games, acting up, it had been unnecessary and I wished I had not been so very blind. _

_…Both hands,  
tied behind my back,  
for nothing…_

_"Aniki! Aniki! Play with me more!" The small body whined, pitifully, climbing over him enthusiastically. But no. "No, no, Sasuke. I have something to do." At the look on the child's face, though, Itachi softened. "I'll play with you again soon, Outoto. I promise." And I couldn't watch when he raised two fingers and tapped the boys forehead. With my head turned, I listened on to Sakura's song._

_…Oh, no,  
These times when we climb so fast to fall,  
Again… _

_My head turned back when I felt pressure on my wrist. He was standing in front of me, tears trickling their way down his cheeks. Itachi was alone now and the room faded fast, dissolving into a mist once more. This mist was different though; slightly darker; slightly thinner. He was holding my wrist. I didn't mind the contact, though I knew very well how I should, but he was so warm. _

_…Why we got to fall for it,  
Now…_

_"Itachi…" I tried, prying for the reason behind his upset. It was the only way I'd be free from this dream. The feeling was getting worse with each passing moment. He opened his mouth to speak but my world erupted into a white nothingness and I awoke._

I couldn't remember the last time I'd woken from a dream only to hear myself screaming. And I was screaming that night. Was screaming every night. I had foolishly believed that my nightmares were getting better, they had lessened up until that point but from that first night onwards I had been plagued by this one recurring dream over and over and over again. And each time I would wake in the same state; sweaty, screaming and sobbing. I despised it. But what I despised even more so was the dream - it contained nothing that should be strong enough to render me this catastrophically behaving and yet each and every time would be exactly the same. Even the events that followed.

It took only moments for Naruto to charge through the door. I was on the sofa tonight and he had taken the bed. He was by my side in an instant, asking me if I was all right. I didn't answer. I never answered. The first time it happened Naruto had panicked and fussed and touched so much that I'd had to punch him. At least now he knew what was happening when it occurred. That didn't make the situation any less humiliating for me. Then again, I never did care for showing emotion and having Naruto see me when my face was so wet with tears and sweat, when my voice was scratchy from the yelling and my hair a mess from the struggling was not something I enjoyed.

He was always fairly accepting of it. He never pressed me to tell him what it was I dreamt of, which was good of him, if a little unusual given his character. It didn't take us long to settle back down and then he returned to bed and I lay back on the couch. The dream plagued my mind for the remainder of the night.

It was the most wretched dream I'd ever had. And it was the only one I ever had any more. Each time I had it though, I kept missing something. It felt so unfinished when I awoke and the feeling grew so much as the dream continued. I was almost certain that it was that feeling which caused such disgraceful outbursts of emotion. And perhaps frustration at the incomplete ending. Nevertheless I had to deal with it at least once a fortnight. I suppose I was lucky, in a way, that I no longer had any other nightmares.

When eventually I saw what a waste of time it was to lay on the couch when I obviously would get no more sleep, I began to study. It was still dark outside - though for it was summer I knew it would not last. The summers here were as I'd expected; hatefully hot. Last summer had been dreadful. I had burnt more than I have in my life, and everyone dragged me to the beach each and every day of it. Perhaps this year - being the second year - would be better. I knew how to cope with it. The village did indeed have creams for protecting skin, it had taken me too long to find that out then though and by that time my skin had already been blistered. This time I knew better. I had already bought cream and was using it very wisely.

Naruto hated when I studied; 'what's the point in that' he would say all the time to me but I paid him no attention when he did. I actually enjoyed studying. It took up a large part of my life now. I knew it was useless information for when we left this place but still…I liked to be the best in things and this was no different. Back when I'd chosen my six subjects last year I'd had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

I had taken artistic studies - which I liked most because I shared classes with Mai and that assured things were always to be laughed at. The actual work was something like a stress reliever, much to Naruto's happiness for after art classes or whenever I was particularly artistic Naruto was always let off easily. Until I'd finished being relaxed and then he had to deal with his ignorance and my anger completely.

I'd also chosen to take a course in language. Writing was a main part in that class, as was reading; both I enjoyed, though according to my sensei my writing lacked…life, he said it was. He said my writing felt dead. Which I was still surprised at because in Dramatic studies I managed to portray emotion easily. I was the best in that class, definitely. The teacher had even suggest I go on to become an actor but I thought that ridiculous. In all honestly I'd never believed myself an actor but I suppose my lack of emotion helps me fake things.

Those three were my favourites, though I'd also taken musical studies which was almost as good. Supposedly I could sing and dance well. I stuck mostly to the singing, dancing felt a bit too dangerous since if I got carried away I could go a bit too fast. Faster than civilians could do. So dancing was not my forte, but apparently I could sing.

I had stuck with Physical studies with Naruto since I didn't want to miss out on the exercise, especially with our lack of training, but the boys annoyed me far more than I'd like to admit. Naruto loves it, with the exception of one boy. An older guy called Jose. I've met him outside of class once or twice since he is friends with Mai and Mika and as such often comes along for breaks. Naruto doesn't like him but I don't know why. Nobody in this town really deserves to be thought ill; they are all too nice, or perhaps I'm just in a better mood most of the time.

And my last subject was biological studies, it was interesting but often resulted in putting me in a bad humour, for I was growing more and more ashamed of what I had put my own body through in the years with Orochimaru. And Biological studies centred around the human body and how it worked.

But, all in all, I was satisfied with the way my subjects were going. I often thought it a shame that I might not be able to pass them at the end of the five year study period. For I doubted we would still be here by then. Since our arrival here the Hokage had sent two letters. The first to me and the second blatantly not to me. The second had contained nothing but notes on the 'goings-on' in the village and was addressed to Naruto all the way through. I'd had half a mind not to give it to him, but in the end I did not keep it hidden. He would find out eventually anyway and become even more of an annoyance with complaints.

He'd regarded it with much enthusiasm and excitement for about a day, then he seemed almost to forget all about it. It was no concern of mine, of course. I didn't care where his attentions lay as long as they caused no frustration for me.

Just as I expected when Naruto got up in the morning he had a few things to say about my studying. I ignored him, only smirking to myself for how well I knew him. He had to leave soon though to go downstairs. It was one of the days when he had no subjects. I, too, had fewer today but I still had to go in for two in the afternoon. Therefore Naruto opened the bar early and worked until I returned from my subject, then I took over.

Riki*, the only waiter who'd been here from the very beginning, came in five days a week and we had three other employees - I say 'we' but it was actually Kippomaru and Rizzo who employed all of us, but I practically ran this business now. Besides, it was my money - Naruto's as well - that had paid for all the improvements done to the place. And it was well improved. I was no longer ashamed to work here.

We had transformed the dingy bar into a substantially well looking bar and diner. We had knocked down the wall separating the bar and the storage room through and kept only a small side room for the storage and staircase, as well as installing a small toilet. The bar now stood in the middle, circular and well-kept. The place looked much better decorated too - all my own doing, Naruto knows nothing of style - and was now quite popular in the village. We had even had a few students come through from the apartment complex a few miles through the forest. The one for students which had it's own diners and shops. They rarely ever came here but with the new look and Naruto's popularity at school - educational establishment - we'd had a fair few visits.

I have to say I was proud. It was mostly my own doing and our pay had soared up as well - on my demand. Kippomaru certainly couldn't complain with the amount of money he was now gaining from the place. I had changed the name of it too. It used to be called 'Kippomaru's bar' but was now 'the burning makenki'. He had to agree with it. Because I was getting him good business. Naruto, I must admit, did work harder than he used to. But the boy could be so annoying when I was working with him. He got bored and caused a nuisance. He was always speaking to this customer or that and though it helped with business it gave me more work in the bar.

"See yah later, Sasuke. Unless you fancy coming down to help me today, just until your subjects start," he said as he started down the stairs, pausing to look back at me. "Or until the cook arrives! I'm on my own until then and nobody comes in until the restaurant opens at nine." He attempted to give me a pleading look but I wasn't buying it. I told him I might come down. It was simply so he'd go away, but perhaps I would, once I was finished with my studying.

I had never given any thought to the reasons for my choices when it came to the topics. I'd picked at random anything that seemed amusing. If I'd known I would actually…want to continue with them I might have chosen differently. It wouldn't do to get attached to such things. I had to always remember who I was and how I was nothing now. I was an avenger and now have no purpose. That is me. That is my life.

I would normally study for hours on end. I loved how it distracted my mind from even the idiot I was living with. Whenever Naruto was downstairs he would make such a noise that it was hard to destract myself and studying was just the antidote. Yet it was harder to concentrate on my studies this time, perhaps the dream still harbouring at the back of my mind was the key. That stupid dream. And I was absolutely convinced that it was linked to the feeling. Nevertheless, only half an hour later and I was down in the restaurant helping Naruto. There was extra work today since Naruto hadn't cleaned the dishes the night before so now I was doing them for him while he cleaned the tables and bar and toilet.

We didn't talk much as we worked, which was slightly unusual since Naruto always has something to say. Not that I was complaining, I would just rather he acted as normal. I hate when things change, especially when it involves Naruto. I like him to be constant. He is the only constant part of my life after all. Yet he seemed almost - distracted. If something was on his mind he had better tell me about it. It gets on my nerves when he sulks about.

"Naruto…?" But I never got to finish my question for he spun over to me so fast that I was forced into silence. What on earth was the matter with the boy? He stood mumbling for a minute before snapping his head up with a look of force in his eyes.

"You're coming with me tonight."

Was that all he was going to say…? I wasn't sure what to make of his odd behaviour so I simply raised an eyebrow. If he got any weirder I contemplated knocking him out. Perhaps when he woke up he would have more sense.

"I…uh…found this place…that time I went with Tessa and Lusca to the…er…to the student complex thingy…Well I found this place when I was off walking by myself and I…I was wondering…Well actually it was Mai's idea…I wouldn't have even asked if she didn't say I should…and I don't even really want you to come but she really insisted and-"

"Naruto. Out with it, I'm sick of your rambling." What was his problem today?

He huffed a little, looking highly uncomfortable. "…I want to show it to you…If you'll come…which you should! 'Cause it's awesome!" I weighed the situation. I knew there was something he wasn't telling me. I was sure of it. I didn't really believe all that stuff about it being Mai's idea, she's intrusive but she could never convince Naruto of something, his mind is too far gone for anybody of normality to even attempt to control him.

But maybe she knew about this…and I liked Mai…well I didn't like her. She was nice…I could put up with her. I had actually made plans for tonight. It was the only day in weeks that I had tonight off work at the same time as Riki and we had arranged for me to go over to his apartment. He didn't live in the student flats but had no parents to look after him. So he was given a flat of his own. In our time working here together we had formed a sort of…understanding of each other.

I don't have friendships you see. I don't do friendships. Friends only cause pain. But…when I looked at Naruto and saw how badly he seemed to want this I thought that perhaps I could go with him. If it wasn't worth it then I would take it out on him later. I'd spend all morning in the shower so he couldn't shave…for five days. That would teach him.

I was actually more empathetic to Naruto when it came to the facial hair, for I had eventually began puberty myself. Though it wasn't all I had wanted it to be. It was more. And not in the places that I liked. There wasn't very much of it because my hair grew fairly thin but…it made me feel dirty. It was ugly and curly and I disliked it very much. So now I took longer shaving than him. And he was about as understanding as I had been. My little moustache couldn't take that long could it? He would wonder in amazement at how long I spent shaving. I wouldn't tell him to truth of course…that I shaved my legs and armpits and…It wasn't something he needed to know.

So I agreed to go with him, hoping Riki wouldn't hold a grudge. I doubted it. People in this village were far more obliging than any I had ever encountered before. It was Naruto who held the grudge over Riki. From the very start of our acquaintance Naruto had been trying to get me to stay away from him. He thought Riki a bad influence on me. I could only stare at him in wonder when he told me. That he could consider anybody a bad influence on me was insane. I would say I'm the worst influence on anybody in this village. Idiot Dobe.

He waited until nightfall when our last shift was completely finished, dishes and all, before taking me out into the woods. He took me though a small expanse of trees and through the students apartments, through more trees until everything grew extremely dark, the lights from the houses behind us faded and we walked even more.

He took me much farther than I'd anticipated and each time I thought he would stop and declare us there, he continued on. For a while I held the belief that he had gotten lost, which I was non too pleased about, since, and I winced inwardly at my naivety, I had not bothered to remember the way back. Being lost in this dense forestry at night with Naruto did not sound appealing. As it was I was lucky, for Naruto had not forgotten the way - it was just farther then I thought possible for his small brain to remember.

The place he took me to was really nothing special; just a mildly tall cliff, swamped by trees on all sides that looked down on a sandy stream with blossoms of flowers and bushes of foreign plants. None of which I could see clearly in the slim moonlight. The first thought I had was of all the things I'd seen here, on this island, this place was not only the most tropical, but also the most dangerous. Compared with everything else here the steep hill posed the most threat; if a child were to come running through here they would never see the drop before they hit the bottom.

Naruto took a seat on the ledge and sighed in contentment, looking straight through the slip of trees and into the full moon. It shone clearly on the hill from it's position above the stream. I couldn't deny that it was…nice…in a way…though the feeling basked in times like these and that stopped me enjoying the moment too much. But for as long as I stood there in silence I could not fathom why I had been brought here.

There must have been a reason and I found it extremely off-putting for Naruto to do such a thing for no reason at all. He was not to type for things like this; he was loud and annoying. This was calm and peaceful. His behaviour made me suspicious.

"Sit down." He eventually said, patting the space beside him. And I didn't disobey him - not because I wanted to give him what he liked but because walking had made me bored and I liked to think this was going somewhere. He would regret wasting my time. So I took the seat beside him, forced close enough that our legs pressed together in a way that should have made me uncomfortable.

Again the silence reigned over us. I was tempted to speak up, just to break to atmosphere. Not that it was uncomfortable; the atmosphere. But the fact that it wasn't made me unpleased. Yet I didn't know what I could say, I didn't want to seem weird, because I couldn't remember the last time I had started a conversation with Naruto.

There was something I had been itching to know for a long time. I held the belief that Naruto had been involved in relationships before he came here. I just wanted to know about them. I could never ask, though, because I knew I would hate someone asking me about that, had I ever been in any sort of sexual relationships. As it turned out I didn't need to bring it up; Naruto walked right into it himself.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke!" His outburst startled me in each and every way and for a few minutes I was - shamefully - a little stunned. For starters the shout had came from nowhere and cut through the silence like a brick through glass. His attitude also aroused something within me…something distinctly…flattering. And then…it was my birthday?

…oh yes…so it was. Strange of me to forget. Then again I'd never been partial to celebrating my birthday. In fact…I don't remember having one last year. I must have forgotten it as well. How on earth Naruto knew about it was beyond me. I suppose I should have been grateful; for the reminder if nothing else, but I wasn't really, not until he came up with a brilliant plan to give me what I wanted.

"Anything." He said, with such nervousness that I even kept my mouth shut as he snatched my hand and held it between us. "Anything you want, I'll give to you. I didn't know what you would want for birthday so I thought I'd ask…then you could get anything." And I felt suddenly very thankful to him. He had given me a chance to bring it up. He had given me a chance to bring up something I could never have brought up before. Yes, I was relieved to get it off my chest. It had followed me for so long I would have liked to cut it away.

"Well…I want to know about your relationships." Was what I said, fully aware of how I sounded but too full of relief to care all that much. He looked at me strangely and asked what I meant. When I told him 'who you've had sex with', in a tone that betrayed none of my building anticipation, he blushed brilliantly and I loved every moment of his discomfort. I was a little embarrassed too but his blatancy certainly made up for it.

"Well…um…" I felt myself stare at him, though I could see that he was beginning to grow upset. "It was…Sakura was my girlfriend for a while…" I should have expected that, yet I had never for a moment thought it would be her. I felt eager to know more so I nudged his side when the momentary silence began to grate on my nerves. It was only then that I saw the shimmer of tears in his eyes. He turned his head away and sighed shakily. Obviously he thought I would not notice. Obviously he thought it shameful to cry in front of me. Why talking of this would make him cry I had no idea but I would all too soon find out.

"Yeah…Sakura." His voice was distant and there was a look on his face that I saw now as guilt. He was guilty?

A sigh. "We were dating…for a while…a few whiles. We kinda kept falling out and stuff…only not really." I resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow but kept listening despite my own growing nervousness. Why I was nervous I had no idea.

"It…didn't really work out." He turned to look at me and I was glad his tears hadn't fallen. "It didn't work out." he repeated, as if only now convincing himself of it. I wondered…had she been the one to break things off?

"Every time we tried to have something…a spark or something…it was just missing. It was - my fault. Completely. I don't blame her at all. There just…wasn't anything there."

I felt sure I knew what had happened and although I felt cruel I couldn't stop myself. "Why did you keep going back to her then. If she didn't love you why not…move…on…" But now he was looking at me solemnly, utter agony etched into his eyes before his head fell to my shoulder.

"No." He moaned to me. "No, I…I just couldn't say no to her. All those times. All those times I said I loved her and chased her and then when I got her I was so happy! So happy! Yet…I led her on! I lied all those times and I didn't love her and then she loved me…for real…and I hurt her." His hand squeezed mine almost to the point of pain but I stayed silent, waiting for him to compose himself.

He pulled away, looked into the trees, wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and faced me. "I did try. I really tried to love her but I couldn't. I won't forgive myself for it. But I did try." He sounded more like he was attempting to tell me something secret. Something beneath the lines and I was reminded of the look on Sakura's face the last time I had seen her. From across the battlefield she had looked so angry…so jealous.

Did she have a reason to be? Looking at our linked hands, where his thumb rocked backwards and forwards over my skin I wondered to myself. Did she have a reason to be jealous of me? Naruto's laughter interrupted my thoughts.

"So, yeah! That was my first! And only!…kinda." Well…now he had peaked my interest again and seemed to notice from my new stare. "Oh no! Don't make me tell you more!" but he laughed and seemed to have no problem sharing even more.

"This is confidential though. You must tell nobody! I'd have to kill you." He winked, then pouted in mock insult as I snorted.

"No, seriously, we were so stupid even doing the things we did. It was all for fun though…just curiosity but…wow - we could've really got in trouble!" I wished he would just tell me already. I got the message. He wasn't supposed to do it.

"But - it was when I went to Suna one time. I'd gone to speak with Gaara and train a little with him, but, I was chilling one night with Kankuro and Temari…" I had a feeling I knew what was coming; he'd cheated on Sakura with Temari or something idiotic like that. "Temari left early cause she was training a group of genine the next day, but me and Kankuro stayed up really late and we just sort'ah decided to…experiment." he looked at me a little wearily. I hadn't really expected that but now I knew what he meant when he had said they could have gotten into trouble. Had they been caught they would have been executed. Perhaps not Kankuro but Naruto definitely. Suna wasn't quite as strict and Gaara could have protected him. Naruto would have been doomed.

"Don't look at me like that!" He exclaimed at my look of disbelief. "I'm not looking at you like anything…I just think it was careless of you." I replied honestly.

"Yeah, well! We were young and wanted to know what it felt like."

An awkward silence spread around us, this time tempting me to remove my hand from his. For some reason I didn't though, and my curiosity got the better of me as I asked what it was like. To say Naruto seemed surprised might have been an understatement, or it could have been an overstatement, either way he refused to answer me. His expression made me smirk and he laughed too.

Conversation continued from that point, I said little but listened a lot. The topic of my own sexuality came up, and in my new found good mood it didn't take long for him to pry a confession of my inexperience out. It was less embarrassing than I thought as well, and I managed not to be offended again when he looked shocked.

And as I returned to the apartment later than I'd ever expected I had to admit - silently to myself - that it had been the best birthday I could recall.

**…**

**The name of the bar lol I chose that name because I wanted it to be something to do with fire, from Sasuke's family bloodline. And makenki means the spirit of rivalry. I just thought that fit Naruto and Sasuke so well…**

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Riki* pronounced 'Ree-kee'**

**Xx..xX**


End file.
